Fire Emblem: The Dark Medallion
by Dark Seroph
Summary: Not everything is what one could call “Peaceful” in Tellius. Daein is on the brink of a civil war, a malicious cult has come into being, and opinions are divided within the Begnion court. Could Ike and his band of Mercenaries possibly help? FE9
1. Chapter 1: Mercenaries

**Prologue**

**Chapter 1: Mercenaries**

"Too easy…" A blue haired man said as he sidestepped an awkward swing of an axe from the bandit he was fighting. The smelly and very dirty man panicked when he missed, and screamed as a sword plunged through his chest. He looked around and sheathed his sword, seeing no more opponents. He was Ike, Commander of the Greil Mercenaries, once Lord and General of the Crimean Liberation army.

"Why are we doing little stuff like this again Commander Ike?" Boyd -a green haired axe wielder- asked as he put away a bow in favor of taking out the axe, which he had dubbed "Bloody Faithful". A scared sword-wielding bandit rushed at him and was immediately cut down. "Isn't there like a special force task or something that's supposed to handle bandit raids?" Boyd had not changed a bit in the two years since the end of the war, except that he had become much stronger… after being bothered by half of the company.

A woman with long red hair and wearing white armor nudged her horse to Boyd's position. "We _are _the special tasks force." She said with a sigh. She was Titania, and used to be one of the special guards in the old Crimean forces before the war. She had quit and joined up with the mercenary band when Greil, the former commander and Ike's father, was still alive.

A green-headed paladin, Oscar, rode his horse over, firing his bow into a gaggle of fleeing bandits and scoring a hit. "No, we're _mercenaries. _Right now, we're just getting paid to do special force tasks and what not." He was the brother of Boyd and Rolf, the latter being a young boy and remarkable archer for one of his age.

"Exactly what he said." Boyd agreed, leaning against his axe. "I think Mist is the only one having a hard time." He gestured toward where a young girl on horseback and wielding a sword was fending off an axe wielding man. The man fell over dead though, with an arrow through his back. The girl waved to an even younger, bright green haired boy, who wove back from behind a bush and loaded his bow once more, picking a target.

"I think this battle is pretty much won." Commander Ike said as he walked toward the three. "I don't think they'll be wanting to try and raid this place again any time soon."

"No kidding. After all this." Boyd snorted and gestured toward the "battle field" where the bandits who had fought lie dead. Their company had suffered no more than scratches for their efforts.

"Alright then, pack up and lets get out of here!" Ike said and Mist rode over.

"Oh! You have a scratch!" She gasped, pulling a long staff from the holder on her saddle and touching it to his arm where the offending scratch was. Ike rolled his eyes at his sister.

"That didn't even draw blood." He pointed out as the crystal on the tip of the staff glowed.

"All the same. It's better for me to worry than for Rhys to worry." Mist said with a smile.

Rhys, the frail priest back at base had a habit to worry himself sick, literally. Still, Ike was sure that not even Rhys would be worried about such a minor scratch.

"Commander, I'll ride back and collect our pay." Titania said. "I'll meet you all back at base."

Ike nodded and climbed on behind Mist and she spurred her horse forward, towards home.

_**-808080808-**_

"And the triumphant warriors return!" Mia -a jubilant purple haired girl- yelled as Ike and Oscar came through the door punching at the air over her head and jumping up and down excitedly.

"Took you long enough." A sour faced archer with red hair said, eying Ike with disgust. "You'd think that it would be easy, just getting rid of some smelly bandits. But apparently not for wittle Ikie-poo."

"Oh can it Shinon." Boyd said, embedding his axe in the floor, earning a glower from Mia. "There were a lot of them."

"How did your mission go Uncle Shinon?" Rolf, the young green-headed archer asked, tugging on the redheaded archers sleeves.

"Nothing exciting happened at all." He said a bit disappointed.

"There were no women either!" Gatrie, a blonde headed man with bright blue eyes and equally bright blue-plate armor added, disappointed as well.

"Everything went as planned. I'm amazed you two didn't screw everything up." Soren, a young mage who wore black robes that complimented his hair, said dully, eyeing the two coldly.

"Hey! I was there too!" Mia said, sounding angry at being left out.

"All the more reason to be surprised." Soren replied with a small smile that was anything but friendly.

Mia was about to retort when Oscar cleared his throat. "I'll head into the kitchen now."

"Oh! I'll help!" Mist said with a nervous smile, not wanting to be around when Shinon and Soren got into one of their yelling matches.

"Kitchen sounds good to me." Boyd agreed readily.

"You can't even cook." Mist said.

"Well, now is a good time to start!" Boyd replied, walking past her.

"Hey!" She ran after him into the kitchen, Oscar following with a small sigh.

Ike shook his head and headed to the library, as Soren and Shinon began their yelling match, Mia following him.

"What's happening? Is there a fight?" Rhys, the red headed and sickly priest asked, poking his head out of a doorway.

"It's just Shinon and Soren." Ike replied, not pausing in his walk.

"Oh, alright." Rhys looked troubled at the news.

"Don't worry about it Rhys." Mia said happily, placing her hands on his chest and pushing him back into his room. "They won't hurt each other, after all."

"Well, I suppose." Rhys stammered, his face turning a peculiar shade of red.

Ike sighed and shook his head, pulling the door closed behind him and sitting heavily on his chair, eying the stacks and mounds of papers warily. One caught his eye though. It was in a heavy envelope and sealed with a wax stamp, the seal of Queen Elincia. He opened the letter carefully, as if afraid something would jump out at him, and took out the long letter inside, reading it carefully.

_To Commander Ike of the Greil Mercenaries, Formerly Lord Ike and High General of the Crimean Liberation Army, written in the hand of Queen Elincia Rydell Crimea and delivered by envoy Glade Marcus Mali…_

Ike let a low whistle escape as he read down the list of all the important sounding envoys that had delivered this letter. Some of the names he even managed to recognize, like Kieran, the red headed horseman that had been rescued from a prison camp and had shortly joined his growing force of Mercenaries.

He paused at the end to read it over make sure that his eyes were not fooling him.

_For the reasons stated beforehand, Queen Elincia would be willing to employ the services of the Greil Mercenaries. Please send a response immediately. Should you accept, transportation to the capital will be sent to your headquarters and you will be taken directly to the capital where a conference shall be held with Queen Elincia._

Ike stood with the letter in hand and headed out to where he had left Soren to argue with Shinon. To his relief, Shinon was nowhere to be seen, and Soren was studying a magic tome with a small triumphant grin on his face. "Soren?"

The sage looked up, eying Ike with a mixture of concern and curiosity. "Something is bothering you." He said without preamble.

"I got this letter today." He handed the mage the piece of parchment. "It's from the capital."

Soren's eyebrows furrowed together as he tried to read Ike's face. "The Queen?" Ike nodded. He turned his attention to the letter, reading through it quickly. "A conference request? Something must be troubling her…"

"It said to reply immediately." Ike said, taking the letter back and folding it up.

"You should go." Soren said thoughtfully. "Take Titania or I with you when they come. What ever this is about, it's probably secret. Some of the names on here are those of spies to the kingdom."

"Spies? Doing delivery work?" Ike asked surprised.

Soren nodded. "It must be important as well. Go ahead and write a letter of acceptance. I think we should find out what our Queen has planned for us."

Ike nodded and uttered a word of thanks, heading back to his study to write the letter.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ike or Soren or… any of the rest of the people that happened to appear in this lovely chapter (and basically the rest of this story). If I own something, I'll let you all know. If I don't instert a **_**"Thank you RandomName36 for submitting RandomCharacter" **_**at the end of the chapter, and there's someone you don't recognize from this chapter, the character is more than likely one of my own creation. From here on out, I'll post no more disclaimers and trust that you all get the point if I just post this in the beginning and not have to deal with it again. I'll occasionally put something at the bottom of random chapters that I feel is somewhat important (up until Chapter 21 where Sparkles and I resume our mindless banter about the chapter). That way you all won't be tempted to read the disclaimer again and again and again and again and so on and so forth and etcetera etcetera.**

_THIS STORY MAY LATER CONTAIN SPOILERS ABOUT MINOR PLOT THINGS AND CHARACTERS! _

**You have been warned.**


	2. Chapter 2: Arrival

**Chapter 2: Arrival**

Ike looked at the Castle Crimea with a mix of awe and pity. The castle had been unharmed in the war, but two years afterwards and the city surrounding it was still being re-built. Laguz wandered the street, some keeping to themselves and others talking in groups with beorc. Soren viewed the city with an impassive face, his hand lying on a spell book of wind.

"What do you think she wants from us?" Ike asked, turning his gaze to Soren.

"Maybe a few of the newly re-appointed Lords are acting up and she wants to use our experience in the ways of killing generals and such to get rid of them quietly." Soren replied dully.

"Are you always in such a cheerful mood?" Mist asked dryly. The girl had begun to grow up in the last two years. Her face had become less childish and her voice had taken on a more musical tone. She had let her light brown hair grow out some, keeping it in a layered ponytail at the nape of her neck. She wore robes of a Cleric, a blue shirt underneath a white robe trimmed with gold; her thigh length skirt was white as well, with the same gold trim.

Soren rolled his eyes at the girl and turned to his book, which he opened and started to study.

Mist eyed her brother warily. "Quit messing with your shirt. You're going to wrinkle it."

Ike snorted but let his hand drop and did as his sister commanded, resting his other hand on the hilt of his sword, Ragnell, the sword blessed by the goddess Ashera. At Mists' insistence, he had dressed up for the occasion of going to the Royal Court. He was dressed in a fine blue tunic trimmed with white and silver and tight white breeches. He wore polished boots that rose just short of his knees and a dark forest green cape.

Mist grinned and looked out the window once more. "Oh I can't wait to see Queen Elincia again. It's been almost a year since we've seen her last."

Ike nodded absently as his attention was drawn back out the window. It had been a year since he had relinquished his title as Lord and General, and when he had, it had been to the disappointment of many Lords and Ladies, even, and he thought with a wince, Elincia had been disappointed when he had walked from the castle gates. He still remembered the look on her face as he had left with Titania and Soren. She had looked hurt and sad, but smiled and waved all the same, wishing him luck and Godspeed.

Soren caught the look on his face, but said nothing and turned back to his book.

_**-8080808080-**_

"Forsooth! What do my eyes behold? A valiant warrior clad in the purest blue of the skies while his mistress caresses him on his path to-"

"Commander Ike! It is good to see you again!" Lucia, a blue haired woman clad in a white dress said, interrupting Bastian's speech by elbowing him hard in the ribs. The blonde sage looked immensely offended by the interruption and fingered his short goatee, tapping his pointed shoes on the ground.

"It is good to see you again Lucia." Ike said, pasting on a small smile as he shook hands with the sword master and sage in turn.

"Ah, I see you have decided to come." A blue haired man with a stern face and wearing bright green armor strode over, holding out a hand for Ike to shake.

"Geoffrey, you look well." Ike said, taking the hand, surprised by how strong the paladin's grip was.

"Aye, as of recently, there have been no more raids to the kingdom." Geoffrey replied.

"The vagabonds have realized the true spirit of our most humble army and come to respect our might!" Bastian said with a triumphant laugh and stood with his hands on his hips as his dark purple cape flowed around him, creating a very dramatic scene.

"Indeed." Lucia said, eyeing the sage. "Follow me if you will Sir Ike, I will take you to the Queen immediately."

Ike did as he was told, Mist and Soren following the three and looking about the courtyard they had arrived in. Around the stone court rose stairs and towers, and within were perfectly manicured gardens. In the center of the court there was a statue of a lance-wielding paladin atop a rearing horse, water spouting up from the fountain around it and framing the stone statue. There was a staircase before them, which lead to stairs on either side that rose to a tier, and above that was a balcony.

As the party of five entered the doorway underneath the balcony, Ike could not help but remember how two years ago he had stood on that balcony with the newly appointed Queen Elincia as the people of Crimea flooded in the gates, singing songs of praises to him for conquering Daein.

Inside they were lead along a familiar hallway that lead to the throne room.

Lucia, Bastian, and Geoffrey bowed as they entered the room and stepped aside, leaving Ike, Mist, and Soren to do the same before Queen Elincia, who had risen from her seat with a smile. Her long green hair still lie on her back untied, and she wore a dress with two layers, the outermost being a dark green color that complimented her hair and a much lighter green color underneath.

"Welcome my Lord Ike, Lady Mist, and Sir Soren. I am overjoyed that you accepted my invitation." She nodded to each person in turn. "Come, we will go somewhere that is more comfortable. I feel as if I have been in this room for to long." She smiled and stepped off the throne, sending the pages and numerous other people with an innumerable amount of paperwork scurrying away like frightened mice. She lead them to a relatively small dining room for a castle to have where she took a seat and offered one to the three of them, Lucia, Bastian, and Geoffrey disappearing somewhere along the way.

"It's good to see that you are all well." She said with a small smile, settling her hands in her lap.

"It feels like it's been such a long time since we saw you last." Mist said happily, leaning back in her chair slightly. "It's only been two years, but it feels like it's been so much longer."

"It does. Are things faring well for you?" Elincia asked.

"They are. There's been plenty of work for us, and it seems that everyone knows how to reach us now." Mist winked at Ike. "Though I'm not that surprised."

Elincia giggled. "Neither am I."

"Speaking of work-" Soren cut Mist off abruptly. "Why have you called us here? I saw the list of couriers that got that letter to us. It seems that you went through some great pains to get it to us in secret."

Elincia's face immediately became more serious. "It is a delicate topic, and one that I would not trust in the hands of someone with loose lips." She straightened slightly in her chair. "Empress Sanaki has sent a formal invitation for me to come to Begnion. Should you accept I would like for the Greil Mercenaries to escort me."

"Why us? Why not your retainers?" Soren asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Because, as I said before, this is a delicate topic." Elincia looked at the three before continuing. "I fear that there are spies among my retainers, and do not trust all of them, though I can't go about pointing fingers for fear that they will report to whoever it is that hired them and I may put my country in danger once more."

Ike muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'politics'. "So you want to keep you're departure secret by having us go with you instead?"

Elincia nodded.

Ike looked to Soren and Mist thoughtfully before turning back to Elincia and smiling. "We'll take the job. The Greil Mercenaries are at your service once again my Queen."

Elincia smiled, looking immensely relieved. "Thank you. Now I can tell you why Empress Sanaki invited me. You remember her Laguz Liberation Act she evoked after discovering that Duke Oliver was keeping Prince Reyson in his dwelling?" All three nodded, remembering well when Ike had found Leanne and the arrival of Tibarn in the middle of their battle against the Duke, accompanied by his two retainers, Ulki and Janaff. "She is having some… difficulties… proceeding in freeing the Laguz still held as slaves. As it turns out, the majority of her senators own Laguz as slaves and are unwilling to relinquish hold of them. It also seems that the size and vastness of her country is impeding her progress. Already, the senators that disagree with her Act are readying to separate from the main country and join the remnants of the Daein army, declaring a war against Begnion and its allies."

"Meaning Crimea and Gallia." Ike stated.

"How much of Begnion is it that disagrees with the apostles' actions?" Soren asked.

"Well over half; I'd venture to say three fourths." Elincia said sadly.

Ike whistled and Soren looked absolutely astonished while Mist looked horrified.

"What will we be doing exactly in Begnion?" Ike asked after a moment.

"We will arrive in the capital under Empress Sanaki's protection and that will be our main base of operations." Elincia said, leaning against the table with her elbows and folding her hands together, staring at them intently. "The Empress wishes for you to render the rebelling senators helpless as quietly as possible."

"And why can't she be the one to send her own troops out to stop them?" Soren asked, having a feeling that he already knew the answer.

"Because, like me, she fears that spies are among her men. Any move she makes against the senators could result in a full-scale war. She wanted me to gather a group of men that I knew would not betray me, and my first thought went to you." She looked directly at Ike, smiling slightly. "So, I will arrange a ride back to your company in the morning and I will accompany you." With that she stood. "Thank you for agreeing to this my Lord Ike." She made a small bow to the three and left the room where Bastian greeted her and led her away.

"Just like old times huh brother?" Mist giggled as she stood.

"Yeah, just like old times." Ike said absently, standing and heading out the way they had come in.

_**-8080808080-**_

"You're not serious?" Titania asked quietly.

Soren nodded. "Completely serious."

Titania looked from Soren to Ike to Mist and finally to Queen Elincia, who merely smiled. "I can't believe this is happening." She placed a hand on her forehead before a smile appeared on her face. "I'll go rouse the men and we'll be ready to go soon."

"Thank you Titania. I am truly grateful." Elincia said, offering a small bow to her.

Titania nodded and turned, heading into the mercenary headquarters.

"I'll go track down Rolf and Boyd. No doubt they're getting into trouble as usual." Mist said, skipping off somewhere.

"Come in. They probably won't believe Titania." Ike said, heading the way Titania had, Soren and Elincia following.

The room became very quiet when they entered the door and everyone stared, as if they were strangers barging in on an important and private conversation. Gatrie was the first to break the awkward silence that had fallen.

He stood and walked forward, kneeling before Elincia and taking her hand softly. "As beautiful as I had remembered you my Queen. May I have the honor of placing a kiss on your hand?" It was never to be known if Elincia would have said no, for he kissed her hand anyways.

"See, I _told _you that he would do that." Shinon said quietly to Mia, who nodded in agreement. Conversation immediately irrupted and pleasantries were exchanged as various members of the company came up to Elincia to congratulate or reminisce about "old times".

At one point or another, someone had decided to break out the beer that had been kept somewhere Ike had not known about and they threw a party of sorts, even though Titania, Soren, and Ike all tried to get the members to stop. Even Rhys had gotten into the drink.

"Sorry, but it looks like we'll have to delay our travel for tomorrow." Ike said solemnly.

"It's quite alright!" Elincia said, giggling as Boyd and Mia stood on a table, drinks in hand, and started to sing a drinking song that every one soon took up on. "To be honest, it's a welcome relief from all the papers I had to sign back at the castle."

Ike shook his head, watching with some amusement as Mia jumped down from the table, challenging her arch rival, namely Rhys, to a drinking match, which he accepted after some goading from both Boyd and Gatrie. "They haven't done something like this since the end of the war. I've been wondering where they stashed the beer."

Elincia giggled when Oscar made his appearance, stepping out of the kitchen, seeing the scene before him, and going right back in it. "Some secrets are never meant to be discovered."

"I suppose so." Ike agreed. Boyd and Gatrie appeared out of nowhere, grabbing his arms and pulling him into the din of the party. "What in the world are you doing?" He yelled, struggling against the two men.

"Come on Commander, you've got to have some fun! A party is nothing if the leading authority figure isn't present!" Boyd said cheerfully.

"I was present!" Ike said, still trying to free himself from their grasp.

"You were present in the corner watching us like a good boy!" Gatrie laughed heartily. "And that's no fun at all!"

Ike sighed, frustrated, and gave up trying to fight against them. He saw Oscar being manhandled out of the kitchen with Shinon and Rolf at his sides, goading him into the din. Soren, who had managed to disappear as soon as the alcohol made its self-present, was being dragged in as well by a laughing Mia.

The night passed by quickly, Ike somehow managed to escape having beer forced into him by Gatrie after he had refused to drink it. Oscar hadn't fared so well. Between the goading of his two brothers, Oscar had managed to consume five mugs of the drink. By that time, Titania had already broken and was drinking heartily with Shinon and Mia. Soren however, had pulled his disappearing trick again and was gone.

_**-8080808080-**_

"And this is exactly why I banned beer." Ike said with a snort.

Mist moaned and swatted at him, even though he was well out of hitting distance. "Will you shut up? I'm trying to concentrate and you're not making it any easier by being so loud."

Ike sighed. "My poor baby sister has a hang over. Go figure."

Mist glared at him and lifted her staff. The crystal on the end glowed, and the girl holding it looked immediately relieved. "Ah, much better. I'd better go help everyone else out… Poor Oscar got it the worst." She headed off to cure the closest person of their hangover from the night before.

Ike shook his head and turned to see Elincia among the still sleeping mercenaries, a staff in her hand. He watched as the tip of her staff glowed over Gatrie, who was just beginning to wake. He smiled and stood, taking her hand and kissing it once more before heading out of the mess hall. Elincia saw him and smiled before moving on to her next patient.

It was an hour before the company was on the road to Begnion. There had been horses supplied for all members to make the traveling faster.

Titania rode beside Oscar, lecturing the three brothers on the evils of drinking. An irate Boyd whose new catch phrase had become frequently interrupted her speech though saying; "Well so did you!"

"You did miss out on all the fun though." Mist said sadly. "You have to admit, Oscar and Boyd dueling with each others weapons was pretty funny."

Ike shook his head as he recalled the image of the two brothers standing on tables, Oscar trying to threaten Boyd with the blunt side of an axe and Boyd supporting himself with a lance, yelling back taunts at Oscar, Rolf cheering the whole time for whichever brother made the best comeback. "Still… Where did all that beer come from?"

Mist winked at him and giggled. "Ask me no questions and I shall tell you no lies dear brother."

"That's what I thought you'd say." Ike replied with a sigh.

"Hey commander, we should throw more parties like that!" Mia said happily, Rhys hanging on tightly as the horse trotted to catch up to Ike's.

"No more parties. It took to long to get everyone up and ready." Ike replied curtly.

"But it was fun! Even Rhys let himself go!" The priest in question blushed.

"Another good reason not to do it again. Something will happen. Like, oh I don't know, you'll manage to get Soren drunk and he'll light the whole place on fire and you guys won't do a thing about it because you'll be to drunk." Ike said, leveling a no-nonsense look at Mia.

"Pfft. No way would we ever get Soren drunk. He always disappears when things start getting good." Mia waved a hand in the air as if scaring away a fly.

"I disappear when you become too impaired to tell the difference between Shinon and Mist." Soren replied, appearing out of seemingly nowhere.

"Hey! That's not nice!" Mia said, a blush staining her cheeks.

"It's the truth." Soren just shrugged.

There was a cry that erupted from the woods that cut off any retort Mia had planned on making. Fifteen axe wielding bandits charged from out of the forest while arrows arced towards the party.

"We're under attack!" Ike yelled, unsheathing his sword and jumping off his mount, feeling infinitely safer fighting on the ground than on the back of a beast.

A strong gust of wind knocked the arrows out of the air and away from the group as Soren chanted his spells.

Gatrie, Boyd, Mia, Shinon, and Rolf all dismounted as well, the two archers firing into the charging group of axe wielders as Gatrie and Boyd rushed in, weapons gleaming in the afternoon light.

The fifteen axe wielders were instantly cut down to only seven as the whole mercenary group reacted to the barrage.

Now outnumbered, the bandits halted in their attack, some turning to flee when a bolt of lightning struck before them, killing one man.

A ball of fire shortly followed as well as four well-guided arrows and a javelin thrown by Titania.

"Should we search for the archers?" Oscar asked, not yet storing his bow and searching the tree line.

"No, they're long gone by now." Ike replied, sheathing Ragnell. "Good work team. Mount up and let's continue. I have a feeling that this will not be the last of the bandits that we'll be seeing today."

As commanded, those who had gotten off their horses remounted, the archers straying off to the side to retrieve their arrows and Titania recovered her lost javelin.


	3. Chapter 3: The Ties That Bind Us

**Chapter 3: The Ties That Bind Us**

It seemed as if Ike had jinxed himself, for that must have been the reason that every bandit for miles around seemed intent on killing them. The sun was just about to set and the weary mercenaries made camp in the relative protection of a forest glade and a sentry, namely Soren and Mia, was set up. Already weapons were breaking. Oscar had broken a lance on the armor of what appeared to be the remnants of a plated suite, Mia had broken her sword when she accidentally whacked a rock instead of an archer, and Rolf's bow had been cut in half by an angry axe wielder.

All in all, it seemed as if they had been pretty lucky. There was really no competition in the vagabonds that had come after them and they had outnumbered all of the groups besides the first gang.

"To bad we don't have those traveling shop people with us this time around." Boyd said, storing "Bloody Faithful" on his back.

"We wouldn't have to worry about our weapon situation if we did." Ike nodded in agreement, thankful that Ragnell could not be broken.

"Aye. We're not too bad off though." Boyd sat heavily on the ground. "Only three broken weapons and we've got replacements. As long as those damn crows don't attack us like they did last time, we should be just fine, and seeing as there shouldn't be a surprise party waiting for us a port."

"Leave it up to us to find every bandit in the countryside though." Ike said with a shake of his head. "We should be there late tomorrow night if we aren't stopped every time we make some progress."

"Ah well. I always did hate being on ships. They make me queasy." Boyd said as he laid down, his arms behind his head and closing his eyes.

"Seven months on a ship." Ike lie down as well, sounding disgusted. "I hated those seven months the most I think."

Boyd chuckled. "I had never seen you sick before being on a boat."

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Ike woke with a start as Soren shook him. "Get up, it's your turn." He said.

"It is?" He asked blearily, sitting up and trying to shake off sleeps hold on him.

"Yes. Go keep watch with Boyd. Oscar and Titania are next." Soren said, walking away and leaning against a tree, folding his arms in his sleeves and instantly falling asleep.

Ike stood and yawned, heading to the outskirts of camp as Mia walked passed him to wake up Boyd. It wasn't long before he joined him.

"Lovely night eh?" He asked with a yawn.

Ike stared out into the forest, trying to see farther than the nearest tree. "Very lovely."

"I just hope that none of those scraggly bandits come tonight." Boyd said, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he yawned again. "I don't think we'd fare to well tomorrow."

"I doubt that there will be nearly as many bandits near town as out here on the trade routes." Ike said with a shrug. "Being that it's a trading port, I'll bet that they have plenty of guards around."

"You're probably right, but until we get close to the city, we'll be bombarded." Boyd replied, sitting on a tree stump and laying his axe across his knees.

Ike nodded in agreement, head snapping to the side when he heard the rustle of leaves, a twig snap, and a whispered curse. Boyd stood quietly and drew his bow, notching an arrow and nodding to Ike as he crept forward, silently unsheathing his blade.

The bush continued to move and it seemed as if there was more than one person hiding inside it.

Ike let out a battle cry and swung his sword as a dark figure popped out of the bush, hissing at him as he swung his sword and jumping away, a tail twitching in irritation.

He held blow in mid-swing though as he saw two young laguz stare at him with wide eyes, the one he had swung at flexing his claws, and the one still in the bush cowering in fear. He lowered his sword, staring at the two confused as Boyd came over, drawing his axe. "What are two laguz like you doing way out here?"

"Well, brother said that we were going to-" The one in the bush started, but was cut off by an angry hiss from the laguz standing. Ike noticed that the voice sounded feminine.

"It's nothing of your concern beorc!" The other laguz said flexing his claws as his ears twitched. He appeared to be young, maybe a few years older than Mist. He was a cat, to narrow in the chest to be a tiger. His eyes were a golden hue, his hair flaming red and the ears perched on his head a slightly darker red. He wore travel tattered cloths that appeared to be once orange or yellow.

"I'd say it was of our concern!" Boyd said angrily, hefting his axe in a threatening manner. "What were you two doing sneaking around out camp in the middle of the night?"

The girl laguz jumped up from the bush between her brother and Boyd, her hands clasped in front of her. She had golden eyes like her brother, but bright blonde hair and wore a green tunic that almost fell to her knees and was tied at her waist with an old leather belt. "We were going to steal your supplies, but I don't think we have to! I recognize you! You're Ike, the beorc that freed out parents from slavery!"

Ike and Boyd exchanged glances.

"Mari!" The boy hissed in a warning tone, the girl kept on speaking though.

"You see, after our parents died in service during the war, we've been in Crimea, living how ever we could. We'd like to come with you!" She said sounding happy and not at all pleading or desperate.

"Mari! You aren't supposed to just ask stuff like that after you told them we were going to steal their stuff!" The boy said irritated.

"Oh hush Mennen." Mari said, leveling a glower at her brother over her shoulder.

Ike considered the two, giving them a once over. "Fine, you can join us." Mari smiled widely, exposing the tips her fangs, and Mennen crossed his arms over his chest, looking defeated. "But, tonight you'll have to stay with us until our turn as watch ends. I'd rather not have you two walk into camp and get burnt to a crisp by Soren."

Mennen wrinkled his nose. "I don't like mages anyways."

The barest hint of a smile appeared on Ike's face. "Don't worry, you'll get used to him. He's not as mean as he appears to be."

Boyd snorted and turned around, heading off to circle the entire perimeter of the campsite. "But to get to the soft squishy insides, you have to hammer away for years and years at a rock hard shell." He said as he disappeared into the darkness.

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"And here we are, with only one hundred bandits to slow us down!" Mia said brightly, sarcasm absolutely dripping from her voice.

Mari and Mennen looked up timidly from their place on the ground. They had opted to transform into their cat-selves and walk instead of ride on horses. Mist had spent the morning of their appearance gushing about how cute Mari looked with her ears and making promises that they would go shopping with Titania in town while Ike looked for a ship to get to Begnion. The group hadn't really reacted to the appearance of the two laguz children besides the normal welcome. They were used to greeting new members by now.

"At least we all got here in one piece." Oscar said. Only Rolf had managed to take an arrow in the shoulder, a wound that was easily healed by Rhys. They had arrived two days after they had originally thought they would, held up by the constant stream of bandit attacks. It was still early in the morning, and the town had yet to fully wake.

"Alright, Titania and Soren will come with me; the rest of you can head into town and do what ever you like." Ike said. "We'll meet at the docks by noon."

There was a unified acknowledgement and the group split up, Mia, Rhys, Mist, Mari and Mennen heading in one direction, Boyd, Oscar, and Rolf in another. Gatrie dragged Shinon off somewhere else -no doubt to find girls- while Titania, Elincia, Ike and Soren headed off to the docks to find a ship heading for Begnion.

"It might not be easy to find a ship that will take us all the way to Begnion this time of year." Soren said, looking around the dock were ships of all shapes and sizes were tied off. "Bad weather around the southern coast lines will keep most captains from going there. They'd rather risk traveling over ground through Daein than getting blown to bits at sea."

"How do you know all this stuff?" Titania asked, eying the mage suspiciously.

"Because I actually listened to what Nasir said." Soren replied as if it were the simplest thing in the world to understand. Nasir had been the one to charter a ship for them to Begnion during the war last time. He had been a Goldoan dragon that had died rescuing his granddaughter, Ena, from the Black Knight when Ike had fought him.

"Oh. When was he telling you about weather patterns?" Titania said as she turned her attention back to the forest of masts.

"While you and Mist were fantasizing about being back on land and going shopping for the whole company." Soren said spotting a man walking around the docks with a large sack of gold tied to his hip and a clipboard in his hand, furiously scribbling on it.

"Excuse me sir." Ike said as he walked over, spotting the man as well.

The man looked up, seemingly a bit surprised. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, we were wondering if there were any ships at port right now that are scheduled to go to Begnion." Ike asked, watching as the man scribbled down something else before looking back up at them.

"Yes actually. There are three heading south before the seasons change for the worst." He pointed down the dock. "Two schooners and a freight ship. The schooners being called "_Dancer_" and "_Wind Crest_", the freight "_Blue Adventurer_"."

"Thank you." Ike said and headed down the docks.

"It would be nice to get onto one of the schooners, but I doubt that the captain would take all twelve of us on board, unless he was in need of a crew." Soren said, reading the various names of ships they passed. He almost cracked a smile a ship named "Nasty Bile".

"So are luck probably lies with the freight ship." Titania said with a sigh. "We might as well try our luck with the schooners though. We all know how to man a ship at least."

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Mist and Mia giggled together, arms looped through each other's as they browsed along the rows of clothing. Mari was in a different corner of the shop, lecturing Mennen on proper fashion and Rhys stood by the exit, watching with mild amusement.

"You know, I've never seen Titania wear a dress… ever." Mist said, eying a frilly red dress.

"Do you think we could get her into one?" Mia asked, looking at a very elegant purple dress that was made of silk.

"I doubt it." Mist replied, sounding a bit disappointed. "But if we did, she'd probably try to wear her armor over it."

"That's our Titania!" Mia said with a giggle.

"I spy a sub-human!" Someone yelled into the shop.

Mist and Mia looked up as Mari and Mennen ran over to them, looking startled by the yell. Outside of the shop, twelve men with swords congregated, looking into the shop at the two laguz.

"Their not sub-humans, their laguz!" Mist yelled defiantly.

"Are they now?" The man who was apparently in charge of the little group asked as he sauntered into the shop. "Cuz they still look like filthy sub-humans to me."

Mist was about to retort when she was cut off by a low growl from Mennen. "I dare you to say that again to me _human_." He hissed the last word, and the beorc around him looked stunned.

"Alright." The man grinned, hefting his sword, which they had just noticed was made specially for fighting laguz, and walked forward. "You're a filthy sub-human."

Mennen roared and transformed, leaping at the man and swiping at him with his claws. The man stepped aside, but Mennen's claws caught him on the shoulder, ripping open a large wound.

The eleven vigilantes still standing around immediately sprung into action, one joining the boss in trying to cut down Mennen, and the others going for Rhys, Mist, and Mari.

Mist and Mia both drew swords, fending off the blows from the vigilantes as Rhys stood behind them, casting spells of light. Mari transformed as well and growled fiercely at the sword wielder who came closest to her. He lunged with his sword and it was sent spinning away into the desk of the frightened tailor, who screamed and ran out of the shop.

Mia stabbed at a man, catching him in the ribs and he doubled over in pain, which gave her enough time to knock him to the floor, unconscious. Beside her Mist yelled out in pain as a sword cut her shoulder. The man was sent flying away though by a blast of light.

"Thanks Rhys." Mist said weakly as he healed her. The priest nodded in reply, turning back to his spell book.

"Tut tut tut, picking on the helpless again I see." A man who had just appeared in the doorway said, drawing a sword as well as the attention of the vigilantes.

"It's you again!" One of them yelled, turning his back on Mia and Mist. "I thought we got rid of you for good."

"Alas, it seems that you attempts have failed then." The man said sounding quite bored. He had a mess of red hair hastily tied back with a blue headband that was much the same color as his silvery blue eyes. He wore a slightly travel worn cloak over a dark green tunic, a pouch of what appeared to be gold hanging off of his belt on the opposite side of his scabbard.

"I'll make sure you're gone this time then!" The vigilante yelled him and two counterparts rushing at the sword wielder, leaving the other three to attack Mist and Mia.

Two of those three fell immediately from a quick slash of the redhead's sword. The third jumped away, parrying the surprisingly strong attacks while being driven back into a wall.

Mennen hissed at the two vigilantes as they leered at him and pushed him farther and farther into a corner. Numerous wounds covered his body and blood matted his already red fur. He prepared to leap at the boss in one last ditch attempt to run away long enough to get healed, but suddenly the boss slumped forward, his eyes blank as he hit the ground, an arrow in his back. Mennen looked up to see a man on horseback with light blue hair drawing another arrow and firing dead center into the other man that had turned to confront him.

The three vigilantes who were still standing gaped as they saw their leader fall and ran away from the bow-wielding horseman. They were killed on their way out though, as an axe flew though the air, imbedding it's self in ones chest. A lightning bolt struck one and an arch of glowing wind killed the last. Ike, Titania, Soren, and Elincia ran into the shop.

"Brother!" Mist yelled, running forward and latching onto Ike in a hug.

"It's ok Mist, they're all dead." Ike said soothingly as he patted his sister on the head and sheathing his sword.

"Geoffrey?" Elincia asked in surprise as the horseman stored his bow and slipped out of the saddle, walking towards the group.

The man in question nodded and looked around the shop. "It is I. Lucia sent me to look after you." Geoffrey had obviously gone to great lengths to look as unremarkable as possible. Instead of his bright green armor that marked him as part of the Royal Crimean Army, he wore midnight blue armor that appeared it could do with some fixing. Over the armor he wore a plain brown traveling cloak that was slightly tattered. His horse, instead of the well-groomed white charger they had become accustomed to seeing him on, was a warm brown colored horse that was rather lean, but well muscled.

"I specifically told Lucia not to send anyone along." Elincia said, sounding a bit irritated, but more bewildered than anything else.

"I know. She told me to ask for forgiveness from disobeying your orders, but she said that she would feel much safer if one of the three of us came along." He looked to Ike, a bit apologetically. "However, if you order me to return to the capital, I will not disobey you."

Elincia sighed, but smiled. "If it is alright with my Lord Ike, then you may come."

Ike looked at the two fallen men with arrows in their backs. "I don't mind if you come along."

Geoffrey made a small bow to him, looking quite relieved. "Thank you Lord Ike."

"On one condition!" Ike said abruptly, his left arm starting to itch. "No bowing and none of that Lord stuff. Commander Ike is just fine."

"Alright then, Commander Ike." Geoffrey agreed with a salute, and Elincia giggled.

"And who are you?" Ike asked, turning his attention to the nearly forgotten man still standing by the doorway.

"Max is my name, a wandering mercenary with out a company at your service." The redhead said, inclining his head towards Ike.

"Well, if you would like, you could join our company, seeing as it appears you helped save my sister." The girl in question removed herself from Ike's embrace, staring at Max thoughtfully.

"I'm an honest fellow and I'll do what ever I can to help out." Max replied with a grin.

"Now that that's all settled…" Soren said and cleared his throat. "We've get a ride on a freight ship to Begnion called _Blue Adventurer. _But only on three conditions. The first is that we have to pay for passage, though it's a considerably low price because of the next two conditions. The second is that we have to crew the ship. I believe that most of us remember how." Everyone nodded save Geoffrey and Max. "The last is that we have to protect the ship from pirates, this includes the Kilvas Ravens that we encountered last time." There was a moan from Mist and Mia at the memory of the winged bandits.

"The ship leaves in two days, so try not to get into anymore fights with the local riff raft." Soren finished eyeing Mist, Mia, and Rhys as if the whole fight had been completely their fault.

Mia muttered under her breath and Mist stuck out her tongue at him, but Rhys was to busy healing up the last of Mennen's wounds to notice.

"I'll go find Gatrie and Shinon. They can't have gone too far." Titania said, walking back out of the tailor shop.

"What about them?" Mia nodded to the dead men leaking blood all over the floor.

"We'll tell the local authorities and let them handle it." Soren shrugged and headed out as well, the rest following suite.

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_The character __**Max **__belongs to __**Maxmagnus20019**__. I just got to have some fun playing fashion designer with him ;)_


	4. Chapter 4: Overboard!

**Chapter 4: Overboard!**

The sharp crack of wood on wood echoed on the stone walls of the rather large alleyway Ike and Boyd were sparing in.

"Is that all you have commander? Getting slow in your old age?" Boyd taunted, the flat of his trainers axe slapping Ike's wooden sword out of the way.

"You know that you are older than me right?" Ike asked, parrying a blow from Boyd and temporarily setting him off balance, taking the moment to swing at his unprotected side.

"But at least I don't show it." Boyd replied with a grunt as he snapped his axe down to block Ike's thrust. The two circled each other, bare chests gleaming with sweat in the early morning light.

Mist sat against the stone wall, watching the two battle on and scratched Mari behind the ears. She was stretched out in the warm sun in her cat form, purring softly appearing to be nearly asleep. Mennen lie close to her, his head lying between his great paws as he slept in a shaft of sunlight.

The two had been up sparing since the crack of dawn. Ike was fighting simply because he had nothing better to do, and Boyd was fighting because he had been itching for a battle since the first day in town when he had missed the attack of the vigilantes. Mist had woken up sometime later and grabbed her healing staff, heading for the sounds of the fight with Mari close on her heels.

Mennen's head popped up and his ears swiveled forward as the sound of wood on wood sounded again. Both Mist and Mari looked in the same direction, spotting Elincia coming out the side door of the inn they had stayed in the night before.

She smiled and walked over to the three, watching Ike and Boyd spar, unaware of her presence. "I came out to let you know that breakfast is being prepared."

Mari stretched and stood, transforming back into her human form and walking towards the inn. "Thanks!" Mennen did the same as Mist stood and patted off her skirt.

"Ike! Boyd! Food!" Mist yelled just as Ike was about to whack Boyd over the head. He stopped in mid-swing and both combatants looked over, noticing Elincia for the first time.

Boyd grumbled something unintelligible and stalked over to where he had left his shirt by the wall as his stomach gurgled loudly. Ike stuck his wooden sword in a belt loop where he would normally sheath his sword and grabbed his shirt as well. "Thanks. We might have gone all day until he passed out from hunger." Ike said as he shoved on his shirt, jerking his thumb in Boyd's general direction. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"Oh quit whining. You're just saying that because I was beating you." Boyd replied, heading in the side door of the Inn.

"You were not Boyd. Quit kidding yourself." Mist said, skipping to his side.

"Oi! Who asked you?" The two disappeared into the Inn and towards the smell of cooking food.

Elincia giggled as she followed Ike. "I'd almost forgotten about how Boyd and Mist acted together…"

"Some times they can be funny to watch, but it just gets annoying when you live with the two of them." Ike shook his head as he headed towards the Inn.

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After getting everyone out of the inn and onto the wharf, they were greeted by a gnarled man with a large girth who walked with a cane. "This is yer crew?" He asked when Ike came close.

"It is."

The man looked over everyone. "You don't look like a bunch of seafaring men." His gaze lingered on Elincia, Mist, Mari, and Mia.

"Don't worry, we all know how to work on a ship." Ike said, hoping that Geoffrey and Max were quick learners.

"Alright, if you say so. Get on board the ship and store your stuff below deck. We set sail within the hour." The sailor said, heading up the gangplank and disappearing on board.

True to his word, they set sail within the hour, heading out to open sea. The sailor didn't use his cane when he was on board the ship, much to Ike's surprise. When he asked about it, the sailor, known as Gambit, grumbled something about his sea legs and how he felt unsteady on land.

The mercenaries had scattered about the boat at Gambit's command. Rolf and Shinon were taking turns in the crows nest because they had "sharper eyes, being those folks who shoot things from far away" As Gambit had put it. Boyd was busy tutoring Geoffrey and Gatrie on how to work the rigging on the ship while Oscar and Max were below decks being the ship chefs. Soren had been instructed to be the navigator with Mari to help him while Mennen ran around the deck in his cat form catching the mice on board so that they wouldn't eat through the rigging. Mia, Titania, Mist, and Elincia were given cleaning duties, seeing as Gambit still was of the mind that women had no place on a ship.

"Oh well, I suppose that we could make ourselves useful when they collapse of exhaustion or something." Mia said with a sigh as she leaned against the railing.

"Yeah. Anything is better than scrubbing down the decks." Mist agreed, wrinkling her nose at the sopping wet rag she held in her hand.

"It can't be that bad." Mennen said with a chuckle, sitting on one of the stairs that led to the prow of the ship in his human form, dangling a mouse by its tail.

"Really? You want to try it? I'll go hunt down mice for you and you can take my place." Mist said, waving her rag in his face.

"No thank you. Maybe next time." Mennen said with a grin as he turned back into a cat and ate the mouse he was dangling. The red cat headed away from them, disappearing below decks.

Mist was racked with a shiver that had nothing to do with cold. "I hate it when he does that."

"Rather disgusting if you ask me." Mia agreed, getting back down on the deck and scrubbing hard at a particularly stubborn stain in the wood.

"He's a cat, they eat mice." Titania said nonchalantly, shrugging and continued to scrub.

"But still. He doesn't have to do it right in front of us." Mist replied sounding a bit irritated.

"He just does it to see the disgusted look on your face." Rolf said as he climbed down from the crows' nest.

"No one asked you!" Mist tossed the wet rag at Rolf, which completely missed him.

Rolf stared at the wet rag before picking it up and tossing it back, hitting Mist squarely in the face. He laughed hard at the surprised look on her face, clutching his side in laughter induced pain, before yelping and running as fast as he could from an angry Mist.

Rolf's get away was stopped abruptly as he ran straight into a solid mass, other wise known as Ike's chest.

"What in the world are you two doing?" He asked, grabbing hold of Mist and Rolf by the shoulders before they could dart off. Gambit looked over Ike's shoulder with a hard face at the two children before nodding his head and walking off to the stern of the ship, collecting his reports from Soren and Mari.

"Well, you see, it's kind of funny really…" Rolf said nervously as he looked out towards the sea as if searching for an answer. Before he could continue though, there was a cry below decks as Mennen bounded out the door in his cat form, patches of his fur smoking. Oscar was quick to accompany him, trying to slow the frightened laguz down, but the cat ran as fast as he could to where the buckets of cleaning water sat, barreling into them and splashing water every where.

Mari dashed over to her brother and sat next to him as he transformed back in to a human.

"What happened?" Ike asked as Oscar ran by to inspect the laguz child for wounds.

"I don't know." Oscar replied with a shrug. "I was just below decks, when I herd a loud racket and Mennen ran by." He gestured helplessly to Mennen, who was being healed by Elincia.

"Who lit you on fire?" Mari asked with a growl as her brother sat up, rubbing where the now healed burn wound had been on his arm.

"Some kid below decks!" Mennen replied irritably. "I was just wandering around down there, minding my own business, when I found him. I knew he was a stow-away, and I told him to come up so that Commander Ike could deal with him. He refused, and I said some stuff and the next thing I knew, he was hurling fire balls at me!"

"There's another mage on deck then?" Soren asked, his full attention on Mennen.

"Well yeah, unless it was you down they're disguising yourself." Mennen replied coldly.

Soren nodded and headed to the door that Mennen had run from, a tome of wind in his hand.

"I feel sorry for who ever it is down there." Mia said with a sad shake of her head. "They've got Soren the Irritable after them." There was a unified agreement between the mercenaries at her statement.

"What's keeping you down there?" Gambit growled from the stern. "Get back to work! This ship doesn't sail it's self!"

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Ike woke with a start as his hammock swung precariously, something crashing above deck and the lanterns swinging wildly from the ceiling. He was up in an instant, running to the top deck where he met a stern faced gambit and a full-blown gale accompanied by stinging rain and a wind that nearly knocked him off his feet.

"Late storm! Grab your men and help me tie up the rigging!" Gambit yelled over the winds. Ike rushed back down to find that Oscar, Rolf, and Mist were already awake.

"Wake everyone up! There's a storm tossing us around and we need all the hands we can get tying down everything." The three complied immediately, rousing the whole company.

When they arrived back on deck, they found that the wind had increased even more, if at all possible.

"Take this and head up!" Gambit cried, throwing Ike some heavy rope before running to the stern to try and steer the ship.

Oscar and Boyd accompanied him up the mast to tie up the sails to keep them from blowing to bits, or worse, from blowing down the mast. They were about half way up when there was a cry from below deck of "MAN OVERBOARD!" Ike looked down at the raging sea and saw two splashes erupt from the waves and no one surfaced.

Oscar and Boyd almost started back down to try and find out who it was that went over and see if there was any way of getting them back. "Don't stop! There's nothing we can do now! We have to try and save the rest of the crew!" Ike wished that anyone else could have been in his place giving that dreadful order.

All of them had slipped while folding up the main sail; Oscar even had to be hauled up again after he had fallen, grabbing onto a rope at the last second. By the time they were done, safety ropes had been handed out and the rest of the crew was tied to the base of the main mast. Ike, Oscar, and Boyd headed back down to receive their own ropes and help tie down what ever had not yet been blown off the deck. As soon as the task was completed, they all headed below decks, shivering with cold as Titania took roll call.

"I see Ike, Mist, Elincia, Soren, Rhys? Oh there you are. Mia, Mennen, Mari, Geoffrey, Shinon, Gatrie, Max, Oscar and Boyd." She concluded, looking around the group of huddled mercenaries for anyone that she had missed.

Silence fell like a blanket over them.

"Where's Rolf?" Oscar asked through chattering teeth.

Everyone straightened, looking around the room for the young green-headed archer.

"I saw him before he went up deck." Shinon said, shaking from cold. "Then he sort of disappeared."

There was a gasp from Mist and the two remaining brothers looked absolutely crestfallen.

"I saw two go into the water. Who was the other?" Ike forced himself to ask. He heard a resounding crack from up deck and winced at the sound, a feeling of dread settling in his stomach.

"The stow away." Soren said. "The one we never found. I saw him go over."

Silence reigned again in the room as the mercenaries quietly mourned the loss of the young archer.


	5. Chapter 5: Off Shore and Back Again

**Chapter 5: Off Shore and Back Again**

Ike walked down the stairs to the lower decks to where the horses were corralled to find Oscar brushing down his horse and whispering to it in low tones. The beast seemed to sense his distress, for it would make a soft whinnying sound and nudge him with it's head or lip his hair. He was reluctant to disturb the green-headed paladin, but knew that he had to say something. It was his job as Commander, and more importantly, his duty as a friend. He took a steadying breath before walking over. "Hey Oscar."

"Oh, hello Commander, I didn't see you there." Oscar replied, making a fleeting attempt at trying to sound happy.

Ike winced inwardly. "We'll be going ashore soon. The mast caused a lot of damage when it fell last night."

Oscar nodded absently, resuming the task of thoroughly brushing down his horse.

"We could look for him. He might be alive still." Ike said quietly, trying to sound like he actually believed what he was saying.

Oscar sighed sadly, a small smile playing on his face. "Boyd and I will look. I know we probably won't find him, but thank you all the same."

Ike nodded and headed back up to leave Oscar alone with his thoughts. Boyd had been working himself ragged since Rolf's disappearance and Ike finally had to order him to stay in his cabin so that he wouldn't collapse of exhaustion. For the most part, Oscar had holed himself up in the kitchen, pasting on a bright face whenever some one would try to speak with him. Ike hoped that they found Rolf, for all their sakes.

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Rolf sat up and coughed violently, removing the seawater from his lungs. He looked around and found himself on a sandy beach, the sun about to set into the sea. Around him lie scattered supplies in broken crates, bits of sails, and a boy. As he walked over he realized that the boy was a few years older than he, with fire red hair, wearing a tight, white cotton t-shirt with blue pants. On top of that was a long red mage's cloak with so many burn marks and holes he was surprised it had not fallen off completely.

The boy started coughing in much the same way that Rolf had moments before, and then sat up, looking around and spotting Rolf, his hand going to his side and groping around for something. "Oh no… don't tell me it's gone." He said quietly, irritation coloring his voice as he stood and paced around the beach. "Damn it all!"

Rolf followed him for a bit at all loss for words. "What are you looking for?"

"My spell book!" He said as he kicked over the remnants of a crate, sending the crabs hidden underneath scattering. "It must have sunk when I got blown over board. Damn it all!"

Rolf suddenly realized that he had left his bow and arrows below deck back on the ship. Waves of panic washed over him as he looked towards the forest, and then back at sea, looking for the ship. "Where are we?"

"Stranded! Stranded in the middle of nowhere!" The red head yelled. "With out a spell book! We'll probably be taken by a bunch of savages and killed tonight!" He seemed to have completely forgotten Rolf's presence by then, angrily walking down the beach.

"Wait!" Rolf ran after the boy, the last thing he wanted was to be left alone on the beach as the sun was setting. "Who are you? Did you come from the same ship I did?" He asked when he caught up.

"Damn hunger. I could have gone the night with out food, but _noooo_! I chose that exact moment to head up, and look where it landed me!" The boy grumbled irritably to himself.

Rolf decided to wait a few moments before speaking to the boy again. "Who are you?"

The boy turned and glared at him, a very cold and evil glare that made Rolf want to turn and run the opposite way. "Pyren."

"Nice to meet you Pyren, I'm Rolf."

"Whatever." The red head said, turning and continuing to stomp down the beach.

"What were you doing on that boat?" Rolf asked after a moment of silence.

"Heading to Begnion." Pyren replied simply.

"Is there someone there that you're looking for? Because we were headed to Sienne, and it's a really big city." Rolf said brightly, nearly jogging to keep up with Pyren's longer strides.

"If I say yes will you quit bugging me?" Pyren asked irritably.

Rolf hesitantly nodded.

"Then yes, I'm going to Begnion to look for someone." Silence reigned on the beach with only the roar of waves running up the sandy shores to break it.

"Is it family?" Rolf finally asked.

Pyren stopped and glared at Rolf once more. "I thought you said you would quit bugging me!"

"I'm just trying to make conversation. I'll tell you all about my brothers if you want." Rolf offered.

"Oh yes, and afterwards we can giggle together and talk all about our secrets." Pyren snorted.

"Really?" Rolf obviously wasn't much experienced with sarcasm.

"No not really!" Pyren growled. "Do you not realize that we are stranded on this god forsaken beach and that we have a slim chance of reaching civilization and an even slimmer chance of living long enough to get there?"

Rolf blinked. "Commander Ike will come for us."

"No one will come for us! They probably think we're dead!" Pyren yelled. "And what's worse, I can't even cast spells so if those damn furry beasts around here decide to eat us we won't have any defense!"

"You mean the laguz?" Rolf asked innocently.

A frustrated sigh escaped Pyren. "Yes, I mean the laguz."

Rolf looked towards the forest, tapping his chin thoughtfully before heading towards it.

"Where are you going?" Pyren asked, watching the green-headed boy make his way up the beach.

"I'm going to see if any of these trees will make a good bow. At least then I'd be able to shoot a bird for food or something." Rolf said absently as he started to climb the nearest tree that was not a palm.

Pyren stood at the base of the tree, watching as Rolf grabbed a rather large branch and started tugging on it. "And how do you plan to cook the bird if you manage to shoot one at all?"

"Oh that's the easy part." Rolf said, grunting as he put all his weight against the branch. "I'll just make a fire."

"Uh huh. From what?"

"Brush." There was a crack as the limb broke and tumbled to the ground, taking several smaller branches with it. Rolf jumped down from his perch, separating the branch he had broken from the rest and sitting down by it, taking out a hunting knife that had been hidden somewhere along his leg.

Pyren sighed and sat down as well, seeing nothing better to do unless he wanted to continue up the beach all night long.

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Mennen growled at the water swirling around his ankles and quickly jumped onto the beach, shaking the water off his feet.

"Now listen up! The sooner we find a tree to replace the mast, the better! Get searching!" Gambit yelled as his lifeboat touched shore, Oscar and Ike jumping out.

"Oscar, and Boyd, take Mennen down the beach. The rest of you, lets go search for a mast." Ike said as he shouldered an axe.

Oscar and Boyd headed down the beach, Mennen transforming and sniffing the sand as he walked ahead of them.

Titania, Ike, Shinon, and Gatrie had volunteered to help search for the tree while the brothers and Mennen searched for Rolf. The rest had stayed aboard the ship to defend it from whatever loony pirates were wandering around.

"Maybe you should start training with an axe." Titania said thoughtfully.

"In my dreams maybe." Ike said with a snort. "I don't know why you bother with these things. Their heavy and awkward."

"No, a lance is heavy and awkward." Titania replied. "It takes someone gifted to wield a lance."

"Gifted in the head maybe…" Shinon said, a chuckle escaping from Gatrie.

Titania leveled a glower at Shinon, but he simply ignored her. "Anyways, are we looking for some tree in particular?" She asked, turning her attention to Gambit who was walking along with his cane.

"Pine is preferable. Being in Gallia, or close to it at any rate, we won't be finding much of those. So, if we don't find any pine tonight, we'll just chop down the biggest tree we can find." Gambit replied in his gravely voice, an axe lying over one shoulder.

"Gah, I never did like being in Gallia." Shinon grumbled as they entered the forest. "All of those beasts running around all over the place…"

"And if one of them comes around, your not going to say a thing, are you now Shinon?" Titania said in a warning tone, remembering that old habits tended to die-hard and that Shinon would probably offend the first laguz they saw by calling it a sub-human.

"Yes _mother. _I'll be quiet like a good child while wittle Ikie-poo has fun with his laguz buddies." Shinon replied with a sneer.

Titania and Ike both sighed, knowing that was the best they would get out of the stubborn archer.

As they walked through the forest, Ike noticed that it was unnaturally quiet for the daytime. After a while of the strange quietness though, they found a grove of large pines by a rocky outcropping, forcing his worries out of his head as they set to work chopping down the tree.

"Do you think that they might have found him by now?" Gatrie asked. He and Ike were taking a break while it was Titania and Shinon's turn to chop away.

"I don't know. We'll find out tonight." Ike said with a shrug.

Gatrie stood, hefting his axe to take the place of an exhausted Shinon.

"Stupid trees. Remind me again why we had to do this again? Oh right, because wittle Ikie-poo-" Shinon was cut off abruptly when an arrow whizzed through the air and imbedded it's self in the ground at his feet.

"We're under attack! Take cover!" Ike yelled, ducking behind a rock, Shinon joining him and reaching for his bow. Titania and Gatrie ducked behind a rotting log as three more arrows came after them. Gambit had taken shelter behind a still standing tree, using his axe to deflect the arrows aimed at him.

"Damn, I can't find him." Shinon grumbled as he strung his bow and notched an arrow, scanning the trees for the one firing at them. "If I could just see him, he'd be down and out…" The arrows stopped coming down once everyone was under cover.

"Did you see where it was coming from?" Ike yelled over their protective rock.

"No, we didn't see anything!" Titania yelled back.

"It came from the trees!" Gambit said, chancing a look around the trunk of his tree.

"Up high then eh?" Shinon said to himself, chancing a peek over the rock. An arrow whizzed by so close he could feel the feathers brush against his cheek. He didn't flinch though, and spotted the dark figure in the boughs before ducking back down again. "I found him. Wave your headband around or something when I tell you, I'm going to go around the other side and feather him."

Ike nodded and undid his headband, waiting for Shinon's signal. "Now!" He hissed. Ike threw his headband in the air, there was a whiz as an arrow shot through it, and a resounding _twang _as Shinon fired his bow. A muffled cry came from the trees when Shinon's arrow hit its mark.

"Damn, I missed all the vitals!" Shinon cursed, standing up from his hiding spot. When no arrows came after him, the rest came out of hiding as well.

"It was just one guy?" Titania asked sounding a bit bewildered.

Shinon nodded, watching the trees carefully. "I got him in the shoulder, he shouldn't be firing at us anymore."

"I don't think he was actually aiming for any of us." Gatrie said.

"What do you mean? Of course he was aiming for us." Ike said, holding up his punctured headband as a testament to that fact.

"No, Gatrie is right. He would have hit us if that's what he was aiming for." Shinon said, heading off at a hurried pace into the woods.

"So what was he doing if he wasn't aiming for us?" Titania asked, heading after Shinon.

"Trying to scare you off so that you would quit hurting my precious trees!" A voice yelled at them from above.

Everyone froze and looked around for the speaker, Shinon drawing an arrow. There was another twang and Shinon's arrow was shot from his fingers. A figure dropped down from the trees, standing before them in a defiant pose.

He had shocking green eyes and back-length brow hair that looked as if he had just woken up. He wore a thick shirt and leather vest, currently stained with blood at the shoulder, as well as some travel stained pants that were tucked into some well-worn boots. Slung across his back was a backpack filled with something or another and his quiver hanging from his right shoulder, a longbow held in his left hand. He was quite tall, taller than Ike, and looked to be in his late teens. "I am Jason! Guardian and Protector of the forest! Who is it that comes to this place to defile it?"

The mercenaries exchanged confused and slightly amused looks.

"I'm Commander Ike of the Greil Mercenaries. Our mast was broken at sea and we need a new one." Ike said, coming forward a bit.

"Not from this forest you won't! It's beorc like you who want to destroy beautiful places like this." Jason said, jabbing an accusing finger at Ike.

"No, that's not the case at all! We're just trying to get to Begnion-"

"Begnion you say?" Jason interrupted, his eyes widening in wonder. "Home of the famous Serenes forest?"

"Well, yeah. It's the only-"

"Oh you simply must take me with you!" Jason said eagerly, appearing about to burst with joy at the prospect of seeing the 'Famous Forest'.

"But for that we'll need a mast, and to get a mast we need to cut down that tree." Ike said quickly, not wanting to be interrupted again.

Jason sobered quite quickly at hearing that. He paced back and fourth for a moment tapping his chin thoughtfully before sighing in a defeated way. "I will allow you to take the tree, _one tree. _But you must swear that you will take me to Begnion to see Serenes forest."

Ike nodded; glad that they could get on their way without having to tie up the enthusiastic archer or something like that. "Then you're in. Welcome to the company."

"But I can't bear to watch you do it." He looked sadly at the tree, already part of it's trunk missing. "I'll be out in the forest saying my good byes. Call when you are done with the dark deed and I will be there." With that, he disappeared quite suddenly into the greenery.

"The people we meet." Shinon said with a snort, heading back to the work site, where Gambit had been watching the goings on with a sneer.

Ike was only inclined to agree.

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"Well, it's not the best I've done, but it'll work." Rolf said, displaying a crudely made bow. Now all he lacked was a bowstring… and arrows… and feathers…

Even without his book, Pyren had managed to start a small fire that rapidly grew when what was left of Rolf's branch was added to it. He sat across from Rolf, occasionally passing his hand through the fire. The first few times Rolf had told him to stop, for fear of burning his hand off. Then Pyren had gotten annoyed and showed Rolf his unmarked hand before playing with the fire some more. Now when he did it, Rolf didn't even blink.

"So now what?" Pyren asked, eyeing the bow. "It doesn't look like your going to be able to do much without a string."

Rolf sighed. "I'll come up with something…" He looked towards the horizon, and did a classic double take. "Sails! I see sails! See? What did I tell you? They came for us!" He started jumping up and down, waving like a fool.

Pyren stood as well, squinting at the sails to try and see them better. He almost whished he hadn't. "Get down you idiot!" Pyren hissed, tackling Rolf to the ground and with a mumbled word, extinguished the fire.

"What was that for?" Rolf asked, quite irritated.

"Take a closer look bow boy. That's not our ship." He pointed to the flag flying from the main mast.

Rolf's eyes widened. "Pirates!"

Pyren grinned. "Pirates. And where's there's pirates, there's pillaged goods, and where there's pillaged goods, there's a spell book to be found."

"I could get a bow too." Rolf said thoughtfully.

"Yes, assuming that we could get there unnoticed." Pyren stood, a small diabolical grin creeping onto his face. "And I think that I have just the plan for it."

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"Hoist the anchor you idiots!" Mia screeched at Geoffrey and Max since they were going much to slow for her liking.

"We're going as fast as we can! Hold onto your pants for a second will you?" Max grumbled as he and Geoffrey worked the winch that would pull the anchor up.

"Hurry up an get those sails down! _Pirates are coming!_" Mia wailed as Mist and Mari slowly unfurled the sails.

"Why don't you help then if you're in such a rush?" Mist yelled down at the frantic Mia.

"Because I'm trying to steer us away from danger!" Mia yelled back, clutching to the steering wheel desperately.

"It seems that they have yet to spot us." Elincia said, a telescope in her hands as she looked at the pirate ship that was heading straight for land.

"Then let's keep it that way shall we?" Mia looked around for Soren. "How's that spell coming? We need to get out of here _now._"

"I have it right here." Soren said, tapping a green tome. "As soon as Mist and Mari finish up with the sails-"

"Do you hear that?" Mia screeched. "We're waiting on you! It's all you!"

"Shut up!" Mist yelled as the sails finally came down.

"Cast it cast it cast it quick!" Mia said, holding onto the steering wheel as Soren began to chant. A sudden wind snapped the boat into motion, nearly knocking everyone over. Mia breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the Goddess."

"What did you go all crazy for?" Max asked, leaning against the wench tiredly. "Their just pirates."

Mia snorted. "Their _just _pirateswith _catapults_ attached to the deck!"

"What's so bad about catapults?" Max's question was met with bewildered stares.

Mia smiled sweetly and walked over to him, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "Maxy dear, did you serve in the war at all?"

"A little bit at the very end…" Max replied, a bit scared of Mia at the moment.

"Then that's why you're not afraid of catapults!" Mia said with an exasperated sigh. "I'll give you a tip for survival then. If you see a catapult, stay the hell away from it. Unless you think you can take a bolt to the gut that's as long as you are tall."

Max suddenly looked less inclined to go pirate chasing.

"Now everyone man your stations! I want this boat hidden before they can find us and blow us to bits!" Mia yelled, everyone jumping to action.

"But what will we do when Commander Ike comes back?" Rhys asked, looking towards shore where the two lifeboats were still pulled up on shore.

"We'll flag them down… or… something." Mia replied, not seeming as confident in her plan to run away anymore. "But, by that time it won't matter if the pirates spot us, because Soren will rip their sails to shreds." She brightened immediately at the thought.

"Since when were you such a captain?" Mist asked once she and Mari had gotten down the sail.

"Ever since I put my mind to it." Mia said happily.

Mist rolled her eyes and set off to help Geoffrey and Max.

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A/N: Hmm, new people are fun! And how dare Max not know about the evilness of the dreaded CATAPULT! ;P Anyways **Pyren** and **Jason **belong to **UltimateAeries**.


	6. Chapter 6: Pirates Aground!

**Chapter 6: Pirates Aground!**

"Do exactly as I said and we should be in and out without them noticing." Pyren said as he and Rolf crouched behind a bush, watching the pirates who had beached their ship for repairs and were wandering around between piles of their stolen plunder.

Rolf nodded. "Alright." He spotted a pile of weapons, several bows lying in the clutter.

Pyren ran down the shoreline from bush to tree as the watched changed, Rolf followed along silently. There was a cry somewhere farther down the beach, and all the pirates started running towards the sound.

"Something caught their attention, quick!" Rolf said as they hid behind the nearest pile of loot.

"Stick to the plan, someone might have stayed behind." Pyren hissed in a low whisper.

Rolf quietly snuck around one side of the pile and almost blew his cover when he came face to face with one of the pirates. Loud snores came from the man, and Rolf breathed a sigh of relief before heading to the weapons pile.

Pyren waited for a bit while Rolf snuck away, crawling around the other side of the pile and meeting the same sleeping pirate. He took out Rolf's hunting knife and slit his throat before continuing on, making sure that there was going to be no one sneaking up behind him.

He rounded another pile of loot and saw two more pirates sitting around a pile of burning books. He winced as he saw a tome of Thunder being thrown into the towering blaze. With a muttered word of magic, the fire dimmed considerably, the pirates shouting in alarm as it nearly went out. Pyren dashed forward, picking up a tome of Fire and hiding behind a rather large chest of something heavy. "Elfire." He said, casting a ball of flame at one of the pirates, a malicious grin appearing on his face.

There was a twang of a bowstring from somewhere to his right and the pirate stumbling around dropped to the ground with an arrow protruding from his chest. Pyren made quick work of the last pirate, setting him on fire as well.

"Should we go see what made them all run away?" Rolf asked, shouldering his newly found bow. "It might be Commander Ike, looking for us."

"Can't hurt." Pyren agreed, hearing enough of this Commander from Rolf to know that he would get free passage to Begnion if he agreed to join their company.

Rolf grinned and headed off at a sprint, looking out for any more pirates. They heard the sounds of battle not far off. Down the beach, taking on the whole pirate crew, was Oscar, Boyd, and Mennen.

"They're here! See! I told you they would come for us!" Rolf said about to run down the beach.

"Hold it!" Pyren grabbed the boy's shoulder, stopping him before he could get himself slaughtered. "There are twenty of them. There's no way they can win the way that they're fighting right now."

"What do you mean?" Rolf looked down in time to see Boyd get cut by the blade of an axe. The pirate crew was surrounding them, and Rolf knew that his brothers probably weren't going to make it out of the ring of axes. "What should we do?"

Pyren considered the question with a thoughtful frown. "Head back to where you found that bow and grab as many arrows as you can. I need to look for something." Pyren headed back to where the pile of unburned spell books lay, Rolf taking off in the other direction to grab the arrows. When they met again, Pyren had a fully formulated plan. "We'll hide in the trees and fire at one side of the ring, that should open up a hole so that the three down their can escape and put there backs against the forest." Pyren headed into the woods, running along the forest line. "Hopefully they'll get the hint and come for us. We can cover their backs and from there it should be easy, seeing as the only advantage the pirates have is sheer numbers."

"You sound a lot like Soren." Rolf said as they ran. "He's our tactician."

"Just keep focused. Don't screw up or it might be your brothers who pay the price." Pyren said irritably, cracking open his book and casting a spell at the backs of an unwitting group of pirates. Arrows arched after his fireballs and the pirates scattered, creating a large hole in their offensive ring. Oscar, Boyd, and Mennen were quick to seize the chance to get out of their potentially dangerous situation.

"Rolf! You're alive!" Oscar said, embracing the boy tightly.

"Less hugging more killing!" Pyren yelled at the two as the whole pirate

Crew came charging up the beach at them.

"Who are-"

"Does it matter? If you don't turn around and put that lance to use now, it surely won't!" Pyren growled, sending a fireball at the nearest pirate.

Oscar nodded at the boy, turning and spinning his lance to gain momentum, the tip of the weapon slashing at three pirates as they came too close.

With a roar, Boyd cut through one of the charging pirates, Mennen at his side tackling men to the ground and ripping out their throats. Rolf shot down what his brothers didn't kill, Pyren making ashes of the ones that tried to attack them from the sides.

Between the five of them, 16 pirates lay dead on the beach, the rest having fled back to their ship. Only then did both the brothers seem to pounce on Rolf, Boyd calling the boy a brat for falling over in the first place, and Oscar berating Boyd for his words while telling Rolf how worried they had been. Pyren stood by, tapping his foot impatiently on the ground and waiting for their little family reunion to be done and over with.

"Oh, you guys need to meet Pyren." Rolf said, finally being able to separate himself from the two. "He helped me out while we were stranded!"

"No I didn't." Pyren snorted. "Where's the rest of the group?"

The two other brothers exchanged glances. "They're down the beach chopping down a tree for the mast."

"Then lets go before the two of you bleed to death." He eyed their wounds from the battle, deciding that they really weren't fatal at all, before heading the way Oscar had pointed.

The two brothers watched the redhead stalk down the beach before Rolf ran after him.

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There were hugs and crying all around when Rolf made an appearance on deck. Mist even bounded up from the lower decks and hugged the boy tightly, crying like a baby, which Boyd more than happily pointed out. Afterwards, Mist and Boyd had been left to yell at each other while Rolf was passed around the deck, Oscar never leaving his side.

Gambit broke up the happy reunion all too soon though, by proclaiming that it would probably take another week before they could replace the mast and start sailing. The whole ship became a flurry of activity then, Gambit directing the chaos and shouting orders at the mercenaries.

By the time they had been allowed to sleep, the deck had been cleared off and the tree hauled off land and onto the deck. Of course, in order to get the tree on board, they needed to move the railings on the side of the ship, which all had to be replaced later.

The pirate ship had appeared briefly on the horizon, but didn't seem like it had any interest in coming after them since they were severely undermanned. All in all, the week was relatively quiet; the only exciting things being the discovery of Jason's vulnerability to seasickness, and sawing half the deck apart and nailing it all back together again.

They set sail for the open ocean on a grey day, with only the promise of it getting greyer and colder.

"I don't trust this weather." Soren said, leaning against the newly replaced railing, a hand on a tome of Wind and an eye on the dark clouds.

"Gambit says that it should be fine." Ike replied, leaning against the railing as well. He had been helping out with the rigging for a while, Mari and Mennen hanging from the mast and spreading pitch on the new wood.

"He also said that we shouldn't have gotten hit by any storms until we rounded the southern point of Gallia." Soren replied dully.

"Well, I don't think it's going to storm today. Maybe tomorrow." Ike leaned his back against the railing, watching Mari and Mennen throw globs of pitch at each other. "Besides, if something is brewing, you should be able to sense it right?"

Soren nodded absently, he always had an affinity to wind. He could usually tell when storms were coming hours in advance.

"Do you think we'll be attacked by the crows again?" Ike asked after a long pause.

"Not really. I heard at port that the Kilvas ravens have ceased in their attack of ships heading to and from Begnion recently." Soren said. "Perhaps Naesala has amassed enough gold for whatever it was he was planning to do with it."

Ike nodded in agreement. "I would rather not have to fight any crows this time around. It was bad enough trying to keep Mist out of trouble… but now she knows how to use a sword."

Soren almost chuckled at that statement. "I suppose she would try her hand in battle against the crows. I wouldn't doubt if most of them could just pick her up and toss her overboard though, seeing as how she's so light…"

"Well that makes me feel tons better." Ike said in a dull voice. "I'll make sure she has weights on her ankles or something from now on."

Soren cast him a bored glance before turning and walking over to where Elincia and Rhys were holding telescopes and talking animatedly.

"What seems to be the problem?" Soren asked as he reached them.

"Take a look towards shore." Rhys handed Soren his telescope, pointing over the dense greenery that was Gallia.

"What am I looking for?" Soren asked, searching the treetops and cliff faces.

"We think that something is following us through the trees. We only see flashes of it, but it is there. I do not know what it is." Elincia replied.

Soren caught a flash of bright green and dark blue through a place over a cliff where the trees were not so thick. "I see. It looks like cat laguz, maybe tiger. But there is something out there."

"Also, we see bird laguz flying over the tree tops. Not as often as we see the ones on the ground though." Rhys said, taking the telescope back form Soren.

"Bandits perhaps? I was not aware that there were winged laguz in Gallia." Elincia said, concern coloring her voice.

"Perhaps. More than likely there is a trap set for us along the islands between Kilvas and Goldoa. That's where we were ambushed last time." Soren said, heading back to the deck to inform Gambit of their discovery. The gruff sailor only barked out a laugh.

"You're fearing birds and kitties? What kind of mercenary group are you?" Gambit asked, eying Soren with something akin to amusement.

"We're not fearing the laguz that are more than likely stalking us. I felt that you should be warned so that we won't get stuck in whatever trap they have set for us." Soren replied, a bit irate at the man for being so ignorant. Even a small group of strong laguz could easily overpower them.

"Thanks for your concern, but I'm not to be fooled." Gambit tapped his head, one eye shut and the other squinting in a completely menacing way. "I know these waters like my ship. Every nook and cranny. If something's amiss, I'll know."

Soren left it at that, deciding that it was better to leave now before the sailor said something stupid.

"You know, I think I would have set him on fire for that comment." Pyren said, leaning against the cabin walls, a tome of Fire in his hand.

"And that is our difference." Soren replied with a small sneer.

"Hmm, perhaps. Then again, you seem like too nice of a fellow to set anyone on fire if they make you mad." Pyren replied, his eyes locking on Soren's.

"I don't know what you're talking about. It would be a waste of energy and magic to set that man on fire." Soren said, starting to get rather irritated with the boy.

"As I thought. You're just a big softie underneath that mask." Pyren grinned, his blue eyes flashing with amusement before heading below deck.

Soren's fingers itched to strike him with a bolt of lightning, but he let the feeling slip away, heading to the prow of the boat as Mari and Mennen came down covered in pitch.

"You started it. I can't believe you. Now we're both going to have to get wet." Mari hissed at her brother.

"Well if you wouldn't have flung it at me in the first place this wouldn't have happened!" Mennen replied with a growl. "Now it's all going to stick to my fur!"

"How dare you blame this on me! We both know it was your fault!" Mari jabbed him in the chest quite hard, almost knocking him over.

"Watch where your putting you're claws little girl!" Mennen hissed, shoving her back.

"I'm only a year younger than you!" She nearly screamed, pushing him right back.

"You're still a little girl!" He yelled, as they both transformed and proceeded to roll around the deck, trying to gain the upper hand in their skirmish.

By that time Rolf had convinced Jason that holding onto the banister wasn't going to help Jason's seasickness any. "It really doesn't. Trust me, I did it, and it made me even more sick than before."

"What was I thinking? Getting on a boat and leaving the forest?" Jason said with a downcast face, his complexion much more pale than usual. "I'll probably return to find that my precious forest has been burned down…"

"I think that the laguz can handle it in your absence." Rolf said with a bright smile. "They wouldn't let their home burn down."

"I suppose so, but all the same. I would rather be safely on solid ground than on this rocking nightmare." Jason replied.

"Yeah that is too bad. It's a shame that we can't just go right through Daein. Though, I'd bet that we'd get attacked by half the county if we just waltzed in there, flying the banners and the whole bit." Rolf smiled eagerly. "I'd get a lot of practice though."

"Why would you be flying banners? You're just a mercenary group correct?" Jason quirked an eyebrow at the boy.

"Oh well um… you see…" Rolf looked around the deck nervously before spotting Mist and smiling in a relieved way. "I think Mist is looking for me! Yeah! Talk to you later!" The green-headed boy then ran off faster than was needed, in all haste to get away from Jason's questioning stare.

"Rolf? What are you running from?" Mist asked as the young archer dragged her below decks once more.

"I almost told Jason who we're with." Rolf said nervously, panting from his exertion. "I had to get away before he got suspicious."

Mist leveled a glower at him. "Well now he's going to be suspicious, with you running away like that."

Rolf's face was downcast at the realization. "I'm sorry, I just completely blew it didn't I?"

Mist looked out the door, watching with pity as Jason stumbled over to the railings and spewed what was left in his stomach over the side of the boat. "I doubt it. He probably thinks you're just weird."

"Well that makes me feel tons better." Rolf said in all earnest, leaning against the walls of the stairway. "When do we get to tell all the new recruits?"

"Hopefully we won't have to. Keeping a secret like this is almost like lying to them." Mist said with a frown. "And I'd rather not have that redheaded kid angry at me. He's scary."

"Max? He's not scary." Rolf asked.

"No, the other one! Why would I call Max a kid? He's older than I am." Mist retorted, crossing her arms.

"Well Pyren is older than you too." Rolf pointed out.

"He only _thinks _he's older than me." Mist said triumphantly.

"What do you mean by that? He told me he was 16." Rolf asked suspiciously.

"He doesn't actually have a memory of his past." Mist said matter-of-factly. "I know. I overheard him talking in his sleep, something about wanting to find out where he came from."

"You got all that from mumblings in his sleep?" It was Rolf's turn to quirk an eyebrow.

"Well of course I did! I know things." Mist said with an air of superiority.

"Uh huh." Rolf rolled his eyes at her.

"Well I do." Mist replied quickly, becoming annoyed.

"Sure, I totally believe you." Rolf said sarcastically, starting to walk the rest of the way down the stairs.

"And what is that supposed to mean Mister Smarty Pants?" Mist asked, her voice rising in pitch.

"Don't call me that!" Rolf yelled, poking her.

Before the two could start an argument, Ike intervened and separated the two at arms length. "What kind of trouble are you getting into now?"

"He doesn't believe me." Mist said with a pout.

"Only because you're so unbelievable." Rolf sneered.

"Ok, Rolf, I think Oscar is looking for you. Mist, aren't you supposed to be up on deck helping out Soren with navigation since Mari and Mennen are pitching the mast?" Ike asked. The lights suddenly clicked on and the two children ran off, leaving Ike with a small smile shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.

"You certainly know how to handle them." Elincia said, appearing out of nowhere at his side. She was wearing a cooking apron over a rather common dress, and she was splotched with flour.

"If they ever get into fights, I set them apart for about half an hour and their right as rain for the next month or so." Ike replied, watching after his departed sister before looking down at Elincia. "What happened to you?"

"Oh this?" She giggled and patted of a splotch of flour. "I was helping Oscar. He tried to make me sit back and watch, but I ended up cooking anyways." She smiled, patting off another splotch. "Sometimes everyone forgets that I've only been real royalty for two years. Before Uncle Renning was taken, I packed and cleaned and cooked and everything."

"Well, you are real royalty now, really you always were, you just weren't trained to do the job yet." Ike replied as little clouds of flour appeared every time Elincia swatted at her apron. "It's our job to treat you well."

Elincia's smile faded a bit. "My Lord Ike, may I ask a favor of you?" She studied his face for a moment after he nodded a 'yes'. "Please, while I am with your company undercover, do not treat me like a Queen." She made a small curtsy to him before turning and leaving back towards the kitchen.

"Hmm, looks like you lost some hero points with the lady." Gatrie said, startling Ike.

"What do you mean?" He asked, eying the lance wielder with something close to suspicion.

"I didn't hear the whole conversation, but I'm willing to wager a month of pay that you somehow made her a bit mad at you." Gatrie replied with a smirk.

"How do you come up with that and why should I be concerned?" Ike asked, not liking the smile on Gatrie's face in the least.

"Oh come on, you couldn't tell by the way she walked?" Gatrie asked with a grin.

"Sorry, I'm not good at interpreting the ways of walking." Ike replied darkly.

"Well then you should start learning, and quick. You can always tell the mood of a lady by the way she walks. Usually shoulders are a good indication. Oh, and the smile. Look at the smile. They're always smiling when they speak to people, unless they hate you, then there are other times when they really want you dead, but they'll smile anyways." Gatrie said with a thoughtful frown. "Speaking of smiles, some of the ladies in town were giving me _The Look_. Maybe asking them on a triple date wasn't such a good idea…" He shrugged his massive shoulders before patting Ike on the shoulder with more force than necessary and laughing heartily. "Oh well, good luck with that one Commander! Come to me if you need any tips!"

"What in the world is that supposed to mean?" Ike yelled at the big man as he walked down the halls. Gatrie only waved over his shoulder and continued walking. He went up deck in a huff, planning to try and calm his frayed nerves.

"What's wrong Commander?" Soren asked as he passed by. Mari and Mennen were licking themselves clean, in their cat form, on deck nearby. Mist was trying to comb out the knots of pitch and tar that had already hardened.

"Gatrie's wrong. You look like you've been aggravated as well." Ike replied, leaning his forearms on the railing.

"Pyren and Gambit. Mostly Gambit." Soren replied with a small sigh.

"Why? Is something wrong with the ship?" Ike asked, forgetting his conversation with Gatrie almost immediately.

"There will be something wrong with the ship later if we aren't careful." Soren pulled a telescope from the depths of his robes and handed it to Ike. "Along the shoreline there has been a mass of activity. There are laguz following us along the shoreline. There are definitely cats, maybe a tiger. There are also five-bird laguz. I don't know what they're planning, but it's not going to be good for us."

Ike walked to the side of the deck closest to land and looked towards shore, searching the forests. "I see what you mean." He handed back the telescope. "We should be coming to a chain of islands right?"

"That is correct."

"Maybe there is a trap waiting for us there." Ike said.

"Perhaps, but it doesn't make sense. I know that those laguz could outdistance us within days. As Lethe said, 'Any laguz worth his claws could cross Gallia in a few bounds.' They're keeping with us for a reason, but I don't know why." Soren replied, storing the telescope once more and taking out a tome of Wind. "I suppose we'll find out when we run straight into their trap."


	7. Chapter 7: Dark Dreams

**Chapter 7: Dark Dreams **

_She heard a voice, it was so familiar. So soothing and musical. She had come to love that voice, and she knew it by heart, so why couldn't she place the name? _

_She saw flashes of gold and white, something was going wrong; she could feel the tension mounting. Something needed to be done, and quickly, or else darkness would spread throughout the land. _

_Why couldn't she just remember that name? _

_Suddenly, there was pain, intense pain. Suffering and sadness. If only she could-_

"Reyson!" Mist woke suddenly, trembling and covered in a cold sweat. She groped around her neckline, searching for her medallion. But, she had given it to the Herons two years ago for safekeeping. She berated herself for giving into old habits. If ever she would wake up in the night because of a frightening dream, she would cling to the medallion. It was her only reminder of her mother she had. But, she had to give it to the Herons. It was safe with them after all.

She stood and walked up deck, just to look at the stars and maybe relieve Geoffrey of night watch, if it was still his turn. She couldn't sleep after a dream like that. She wondered what it meant. Who had been in pain? Maybe it was the herons. Could something have happened to them because of the Dark God's Medallion? An endless stream of thoughts flowed through her head until a firm voice and a hand falling on her shoulder stopped her.

"Mist? Is something wrong? It's really late for you to be up." Ike asked, standing on the deck of the ship, looking quite concerned for his sister.

"Oh Ike, it's…" She broke down crying, leaning into his chest and hugging him tightly. She didn't know why, she wasn't sad or anything.

Ike held her all the same, comforting her as best he could. "What happened Mist? Did you have one of those dreams again?"

Mist nodded, and then shook her head. In the past, she had dreams of her father and mother, and she would always wake up crying. This time, it was not her parents. She wasn't sure what to think of the dream.

"What happened?" Ike asked, rubbing her back soothingly.

"I'm not really sure. I-" She hesitated, shivering. "I think it had something to do with Reyson and Leanne."

"Was something wrong with them?" He asked she was starting to calm down now.

"I think so. They were really sad, and there was… pain in my dream." Mist let out a small squeaking sob as Ike picked her up and headed back down into the depths of the ship.

"We'll find out when we get to Begnion. I promise." Ike said, lying in his hammock with Mist cuddled on his chest.

"Thank you brother." Mist yawned and sighed, falling asleep almost instantly.

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Gambit cursed loudly and paced up and down the deck, a smug looking Soren standing by.

"What's wrong?" Ike asked, appearing from below decks. They had been out at sea for five months now; they were currently sailing through the pass between the southern tip of Goldoa and Kilvas. The famous ravens had yet to make an appearance though.

"I was right. There was a trap set for us. Now we're stuck on a reef. There's been no damage, but the captain is mad that I was right and he was wrong." Soren could hardly contain his smirk.

"Can we get out before the owner of the traps get here?" Ike asked, searching the sky for crows or Ravens nearby. The sky was clear though, of both clouds and birds.

"Probably not. I'll alert everyone, you keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Soren handed him a telescope, heading below decks.

"What's the situation?" He asked Gambit when the sailor paced close enough to him.

"We're stuck on a bloody reef! That's the situation. We'll be here until high tide comes again and we get a favorable wind to blow us off this damned rock." Gambit growled, pacing back and fourth.

Ike looked around at the islands nearest them. They weren't so much islands as rocky outcroppings reaching high into the air. There was a whole chain of the rocks from Goldoa to Kilvas, making the sail between them hazardous. Any one of the rocks would make an excellent ambush place. There was one, not fifty feet away, looming over them. He wished he had a flying unit to scope out the place so that he could put his mind at ease, but no such luck seemed to come his way.

Soren appeared once more, the whole mercenary group trailing behind him. "We're all assembled. I was thinking that perhaps if we could get everyone off deck, then we could push the ship off."

"I suppose we could ask Gambit if it would work." Ike replied thoughtfully, seeking out the old man.

A shadow passed over him at that instant, and he supposed later that's why he wasn't mauled on the spot. He jumped backwards and drew Ragnell, a blue and black tiger landing in front of his face and snarling at him.

There were caws and roars above as twenty laguz dove down on deck, all snarling and screeching in a feral way.

"Feral Ones! Greil Mercenaries, form up around me!" Ike yelled as the same blue and black tiger was joined by a green cat and the two laguz jumped at him.

A blast of wind exploded over his head, and a fireball went off to his right. A crow fell on top of the green cat in mid jump and the tiger was blown off the side of the ship from the force of the fireball.

"Rolf and Jason! Stay behind Ike and Boyd! Titania and Oscar, hold the left side, we need to get to Gambit! Geoffrey, I'll put you in charge of saving the captain." Soren yelled as he and Pyren took shelter against the mast as a crow and raven swooped down at them. The two spell casters performed their magic on the two crazed laguz, leaving them as nothing but a pile of dust floating away on the wind.

Geoffrey put an arrow through a crow's ribcage and it flew straight into the water screeching its death. He spurred his horse forward towards Gambit who was being attacked by three cats. Mari and Mennen dashed to his side immediately, a gold and red streak as they hit two of the laguz dead on, sending the unwitting creatures through the railing. His horse brayed in a shrill tone, startling the last of the cats and the turned on him instead, leaving Gambit to make his way back to the group. Mari and Mennen were at Geoffrey's his side in an instant, but too late to save him from the attack of the feral cat.

He got his lance in between himself and the snapping jaws as it pummeled him off of his scared horse. It hissed and clawed at him with its back legs as it tried to get a hold on his neck. He bit back his pain as a long claw pierced his side and tried to batter off the beast. There was a yowl and a flying blur of red tackled the cat off of him. He sat up quickly, rushing to the side of his frightened horse, only then seeing the extent of his own wounds. Long gashes ripped his clothing and skin, blood leaking from his side where a gaping wound stared at him, gushing blood.

He clung to his horse against the pain; Mari transformed into her human state and slung an arm around his shoulders to support him. "Mennen will hold off the cat, I'll take you to Mist."

"But I-"

"No buts!" Mari wrinkled her nose at the blood beginning to stain her own shirt. "Your going to die if we leave you like this."

An arrow whizzed over their heads and a crow plummeted to the ground at their feet. Rolf waved at them from behind Oscar, beckoning them over. Mari was quick to comply, hurrying Geoffrey to the opening they had created for him and his steed. Mist rushed over as soon as they were within the protective wall of Titania, Oscar, Boyd, and Ike.

"Oh this is bad." Mist said, taking out a mend staff as Mari transformed once more to help out Mennen, who was trying to protect Mia and Rhys from several crows. "It's so deep. You will have to sit the rest of this battle out

"But the Queen-"

"Is in good hands and will understand if you're too wounded to battle." Mist cut him off sharply, the crystal on the tip of her staff glowing with warm light.

Geoffrey watched, not really comprehending much as Max thrust his sword through a snarling tiger's chest before it had a chance to rip Mia apart.

Shinon and Jason shot up into the circling crowd of crows and ravens intent on trying to pick out their eyes.

"I've never seen laguz act this way. In all the time I've spent in Gallia, I've never been attacked so ruthlessly." Jason said, shooting a crow under its wing, sending the squawking bird into the water.

"You've never met a feral beastie then." Shinon replied, feathering another bird in the throat as it tried to swoop down on them. "These guys will attack anything on sight. And once they get a hold of you, they won't leave you alone until either you're dead or they are. It's a real pain trying to shoot down the kitties." He jerked his head in the general direction of the tigers and cats, making a valiant effort at trying to rip the rest of the party to shreds. "They're quick enough to dodge an arrow if you don't shoot them in just the right spot."

"You've met these, "Feral Beasties" before?" Jason asked, groping around for another arrow.

"Yeah, during the war. Daein used them a lot. Damn strong things, and they never turn human." Shinon replied with a shake of his head. "I don't know the details, but apparently King Ashnard hired some mages to make up a potion that would warp their forms and keep them as beasts."

Jason looked stunned for a full minuet before coming to his senses and shooting down another crow. "Why are there more then? It's been two full years since…"

"That's what I want to know." The redheaded archer replied grimly.

A screech sounded overhead and both archers looked up towards the sun, a black form diving towards them. It revealed itself to be a brown hawk, swooping out of the sky and catching an unfortunate raven by the wings, tearing out feathers and tossing it into the sea like a limp sack. An arrow shot over from one of the towering rocks, imbedding itself in the wing of a passing bird.

"This day couldn't possibly get any weirder." Shinon mumbled angrily.

"The hawk has come to help, try not to shoot it!" Jason yelled, sounding immensely relieved.

"Don't get your hopes up. The hawk might be killing off the ravens to get to the plunder." Shinon said with a sneer.

"Are you always this positive?" Jason asked sarcastically.

"What are you doing? Shoot them out of the sky!" Soren yelled irritably, casting a ball of fire at the nearest tiger, Pyren at his side doing much the same.

Rolf turned his attention skywards to help get rid of the crows, until Boyd was slashed across the chest by a very big very orange and yellow tiger. Mist rushed forward, staff in hand to close up the gushing wound before he could die of the injury. Unfortunately the tiger saw her coming and leapt over his fallen prey to attack the unarmed girl.

Max leapt in the way, slicing a gash in the beast's side and causing it to veer off its path, catching Mist's robe with a claw, but doing no damage. The creature turned on the myrmidon, roaring and leaping with extended claws. Max took a hit to the shoulder, rolling off to the side too slowly, but scoring a hit on the beast's back, sending it toppling to the floor and skidding for a few feet.

"Thanks Max. I think it would have gotten me if it weren't for you." She ran over to him, healing his shoulder before curing Boyd.

Max turned back to his original fight, Mia defending Rhys while he cast spells of Light at the tigers coming to attack them.

"Oh Dear Goddess, please see it fit to shelter the souls of these poor beasts, let your blessings be on them." Rhys bowed his head in prayer, light flowing from his open tome. Light flowed around a tiger leaping for Mia, and it dropped down in mid-flight, dead.

"Thanks Rhys. I'll have to pay you back sometime." Mia said, taking a small breather as the remaining feral laguz shirked away from the light that had killed the tiger.

"No thanks are needed." A small smile appeared on his frail face, despite the carnage surrounding them.

"There isn't too many of the beasts left. I hope this is the last of them." Max said as he ran to Mia's side, battering off a cat.

"I hope that we do not encounter any more as well." Rhys said with a nod, putting away his book in favor of a staff and healing the scratches Mia had acquired.

A crow thudded down at their feet, landing on top of a cat. A hawk dove from the sky, picking up a different cat and throwing it overboard. Arrows arched over their heads, raining down on the cats and tigers still left. Oscar and Titania corralled four more of the beasts with the ones attacking Mia and Max. Seeing that they were cornered, the laguz attacked in frenzy, scoring hits one after another on the mercenaries.

A great fireball irrupted in their midst, turning them to ash, but somehow managing to avoid the flammable sails and rigging. Pyren trembled with a sort of malicious joy at seeing the laguz disappearing in the wave of flame, Soren calmly putting away his book.

"Is that the last of them?" Ike asked, looking around the deck at the dead bodies of the feral laguz.

"I believe so, and it seems that we have a guest." Soren said, gesturing toward the hawk laguz that had helped them earlier, a boy on the hawk's back with a bow in hand.

The boy looked young, only fourteen, with pitch black hair and eyes of much the same color. He wore a purple shirt and shorts, the sleeves and legs rolled all the way up, revealing leather gloves and boots. The hawk had transformed into his human state, large brown wings folding behind his back with hair and eyes mirroring his glossy wings. He wore a brown shirt and black leggings, as well as a red scarf and sandals commonly worn by the bird races.

"Hello, we saw that you were in trouble, so we decided to drop in." The boy said happily, an innocent smile on his face. "I'm Alec, and this is Cyrus." He gestured towards the hawk, which inclined his head.

"Thank you for your assistance. We're the Greil Mercenaries, and I'm Commander Ike." Ike replied, nodding to the two.

"Greil, where have I heard that name?" Alec asked himself thoughtfully.

"General Ike." Cyrus said suddenly. "I remember your name from what I heard during my travels."

"Oh now I remember! You're that one guy who went and did that one thing in that one place!" Alec said excitedly, snapping his fingers and beginning to jump up and down.

"Yes, that's exactly it." Cyrus snorted, rolling his eyes at the hyperactive boy. "Are you heading to Begnion?"

"We are. What of it?" Soren cut in pointedly.

"Then perhaps we will accompany you? It had been a while since Alec has been with other beorc. I am afraid he will try to fly on his own."

"Hey! I'm not _that _stupid." Alec growled irritably, sticking out his tongue at the hawk.

Cyrus just shrugged, grinning at him. "What do you say General Ike?"

"I suppose you could join, just don't call me General. Commander is just fine." Ike replied. "Welcome to the Greil Mercenaries."

"Enough chit chat. Store your weapons and man the ship! The tide will be turning soon." Gambit growled, hefting his axe over his shoulder, limping back to the steering wheel.

Mist, Rhys, and even Soren were quickly set to work healing whom they could. Oscar and Boyd carried Geoffrey below decks as he finally lost consciousness due to loss of blood. Elincia accompanied him down setting to the task of healing what wounds Mist wasn't able to patch up in her first attempt.

Ike watched those on deck as his injuries were healed by Mist. Rolf and Alec had formed a tight friendship in record time and were running wildly around Pyren trying to get them to chase after them. The irritable mage only lit Rolf's sleeve on fire, and the two young archers ran off, patting out the flames in favor of bothering Cyrus instead.

The older hawk seemed more tolerant of the two, and simply ignored them as they wore themselves out running in circles.

"I wonder if they'll be like that every day…" Mist wondered aloud, reflecting Ike's thoughts.

"I sure hope not. I'm not sure how well everyone will react to being pestered…" Ike replied, generally concerned. Mia would probably chase them all over the ship, and Soren would try his best to ignore the two and not set them on fire like Pyren had. He wasn't so sure of everyone else though. Personally, he was afraid Gatrie would try and lecture them on the ways of women.

Mist giggled. "I wonder how many times they'll have to be lit on fire before they figure out that they shouldn't bug Pyren?"

Ike snorted in response. "They'll never learn."

"Boys will be boys I suppose." With that she stood, brushing off her skirt. "I'll go heal Mari and Mennen, they took a beating protecting Rhys and Mia." She skipped off, looking for the two cats.

Mist slowed her skip to a walk when she found the two cats and observed Mennen and Mari in a heated discussion.

"I still say that one should have been mine." Mennen said irritably, his arms crossed over his chest.

"But it wasn't because you're too slow." Mari said with a grin.

"I was only slow because your fat butt was in my way." Mennen growled.

"Who are you calling fat, chubby face?" A low hiss escaped from Mari.

"Oh hey, look! You're both hurt! Let me get in here before you maul each other again." Mist said brightly, stepping between the two siblings.

"Pfft. It's her fault." Mennen huffed as he turned his back on his sister.

"Well, if it weren't for your stubbornness and demented sense of pride…" Mari left the sentence hanging, turning her back as well.

"What are you two fighting over now?" Mist asked, passing her glowing staff over first Mari then Mennen. They were covered from head to toe is minor scratches and bruises, only a few managing to raise some concern with Mist.

"She stole all of my kills." Mennen growled over his shoulder.

"I killed what you couldn't so that you wouldn't get mauled from behind." Mari hissed back.

"Well, since you both had a hand in the fight, why don't you just say that you killed them together?" Mist asked, looking from one to the other.

"Because then she gets all the credit and I sound weak." Mennen replied.

"He's just being an idiot about it all. I try to do something nice for my big brother and this is exactly what he does to thank me." Mari waved a hand over her shoulder in Mennen's general direction.

"You know what, I think that we all need to get off this boat. Just two more months and we'll be in Begnion." Mist said happily. Two months was still a really long time, but it was nearly over now.

"Ah, sweet land." Mari sighed, heading off on her own.

"What I would give to have solid ground under my paws…" Mennen said, heading the opposite way.

Mist sighed, glad that the two wouldn't be rolling around the deck again.

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A/N: **Alec** and **Cyrus** belong to **Asterick.**


	8. Chapter 8: Begnion

**Chapter 8: Begnion**

"Get ready to cast the lines! Move it or we won't get to dock before the sun sets!" Gambit yelled to the scurrying crew of mercenaries. They had come off the open ocean, finally. Before them lay the wharf which was at the end of their voyage and the entrance to the Port City of Helmnnie, the end of their voyage.

"Oh, I want to be on land so badly." Mist said, bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation.

"I know! I can't get yelled at for running around on land!" Alec said with a small snort.

As the ship neared the dock, Cyrus flew to and from the dock, tying off the ropes. "At least you'll have somewhere to burn off all of your energy." He said as he landed on the railing, ruffling his feathers.

"Yeah, you even out-ran Rolf! No one out runs Rolf!" Mist said excitedly.

"Less chit chat! If you can stand here jabbering, then you can be below decks packing!" Gambit growled at the three children, having left the wheel to inspect the ropes.

"Yes sir!" The three saluted to him before scampering below deck.

"Tie off the ropes quick! I want this boat secure by sundown!" The crusty sailor yelled as he roamed about the deck, watching the mercenaries at work. "Once you're done, don't get all comfy cozy! We still have to pack all the cargo on deck for tomorrow."

"I'll be glad to get off this ship as soon as possible." Max grumbled, hefting a heavy crate. "The farther away from Gambit I am, the better."

"Why? Because you can't sleep blow deck with him watching you?" Mennen asked with an all-knowing grin.

"That's not the reason at all!" Max snorted, a small blush coloring his face for an instant.

"Psst! Don't let him catch you talking!" Mari warned as Gambit came closer. "He'll make us do extra work."

"What are you all whispering about?" Pyren asked, appearing above decks with a light crate. "He spotted Gambit prowling around the deck and grinned. "Oh, I see. You're all afraid of the captain."

"Well excuse us for not being able to set fire to him at will." Mari replied, setting her crate down with a thud. "Not all of us have that power."

"But you've got claws." Pyren pointed out, setting his crate down as well.

"I've also got manners and a sense of dignity." Mari huffed, heading below decks once more, Mennen following in her wake.

"Dignity is over-rated." Pyren snorted, heading to the prow of the ship.

Elincia watched the goings on with a small frown. Geoffrey had recovered well from his near-death experience, and he acted as if he were never wounded. Still, seeing such a close friend wounded so badly, it made her worry. She was just glad that they were able to heal him in time. The blue-headed paladin had been unconscious for three days after the battle, even though both Mist and Rhys had used their healing magic to the extent of their abilities on him.

Those three days had possibly been the most harrowing she had ever known. She had sat at his bedside, hoping and praying to the Goddess that he would come through. Mist had tried many times to pull her away during that time, but nothing would move her while Geoffrey lay on the brink of death. Even the gentle assurances from Rhys had done nothing to put her troubled mind at ease. When he had finally awoken, Elincia had gone to her room and collapsed of exhaustion, finally deeming it safe to sleep.

Now, Geoffrey was helping Ike with a heavy crate, and Elincia could only smile. Lucia, Bastain, and Geoffrey: her closest friends in the entire world, and Lord Ike, the man that had helped her in her dire time of need. She could not hope to possibly repay them, only offer her friendship, and possibly her love, in return.

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Mia collapsed with a drawn out sigh onto her bed, cuddling with her pillow. "Ah, how I have missed the feeling of a real bed."

"I know exactly what you mean." Mist said, she and Mari walking in the door to their hotel room.

"I had almost forgotten that the ground is not supposed to move underneath your feet." Mari sat on her own bed with a snort.

"I'll bet Jason is glad to be on firm ground again." Mist said, sitting down as well with a sigh.

"Poor guy. I though he would have gotten over it after two months…" Mia replied with a small sigh.

Mai sat up suddenly, a small grin on her face.

"I don't like that look one bit." Mari said, her ears perked.

"I'll be back in a bit." A smile appeared on the myrmidon's face as she stood, heading out the door.

"Where is she going?" Mari asked, turning towards Mist.

A small blush surfaced on the girl's face. "Probably to go visit Rhys. She does this sometimes…"

"Oh…" Mari's ears fell flat against her head as she realized what the purple-headed girl might have in mind for the sickly priest.

"So, night! See you in the morning!" Mist said suddenly, overly happy and jumping up, blowing out the lanterns lighting the room.

Mia heard their conversation and had to fight to keep from giggling at the girls. It was time to visit her archrival. "Now where did he say his room was?" She asked herself, wandering up and down the halls. "Oh Commander!"

Ike turned, seeing Mia bound down the hall after him. "What is it?"

"I was wondering where Rhys was sleeping tonight." She asked with a completely innocent smile.

Ike had to restrain himself from laughing outright. "He should be three more doors down the hall."

"Thanks Commander!" Mia bounded down the hall, quietly opening the door and preparing to pounce on the soul occupant, Rhys.

Much to her dismay, the priest was already asleep.

Mia sighed and walked into the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. It was so much more fun to scare him to death than to find him asleep. She couldn't bring herself to wake him up, even if her fun for the night was completely spoiled by his need for rest. She sat on his bedside, running her fingers through his red-orange hair, careful not to wake him. "Oh Rhys, what a party pooper." She smiled at him, standing and blowing out the lantern.

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Mist and Mari sleepily stumbled down the stairs the next morning, hardly aware that their roommate had not shown up later that night. Ike greeted them at the bottom of the staircase.

"Go on outside, we're just waiting for Rolf and Boyd now. We have to go back to the ship and get our horses from Gambit." He said, heading up the way they had just come down.

"Alrigh'." Mist replied with a yawn, walking out of the inn.

It wasn't long before the green-headed duo stumbled out of the inn, protesting that they hadn't known there wasn't a specified time to get up. Ike was rolling his eyes at their display of irritableness. "Let's go then if we're all here."

There was a unified mumble of an acknowledgement and all 19 mercenaries headed towards the dock.

"Since you weren't with us when we bought horses for the whole group, we'll have to get a few more if we want to travel to the capital quickly." Oscar said, dropping back to talk with Cyrus, Alec, Max and Jason.

"I'm light, I could probably ride with someone else." Alec responded immediately.

"Or you could just run. I know you have enough energy to do it." Cyrus said sarcastically. Alec only glared at him. The hawk turned his attention back to Oscar. "I won't ride. I've got wings, so I don't need a beast of burden."

"I'll ride with Alec then." Jason offered.

"Then that'll leave me with the mage." Max replied gruffly. "That kid has something against me… He's set me on fire at least ten times."

"Nine." Alec piped up.

"You were counting?" Cyrus asked, a bit surprised.

"Maybe." Alec replied innocently.

"Argh, I thought you would never show up." Gambit yelled, cane in hand as they walked towards his house. A girl with reddish-brown hair and dark hazel eyes stood beside him. She was short, probably being only as tall as Rolf's chin even though she appeared to be at least 15.

"We had a few late wakes." Ike supplied, casting a dark look towards Boyd and Rolf.

"I see. Follow me, and I'll give you yer animals. Come on Hani." Gambit strode away, the girl following in his wake.

"Commander Ike, we should find out where we can find three more horses." Oscar said, catching up to Ike. "The new recruits…"

"I see. I'll ask then." Ike caught up to the lumbering sailor, clearing his throat as he neared. "Gambit, would you know of a place we could buy some more horses?"

The crusty old man glared at Ike over his shoulder, a thoughtful look about him. "Yeah, I'd be willin' to give up some of mine. How many do you need?"

"Three for the new recruits." Ike replied.

"Then I have the three in mind. Do you have your money on you?" Gambit asked, taking out a ring of keys and unlocking the doors to a large stable.

"I do."

"Then come with me." Gambit lead Ike inside, passing up the horses that belonged to the mercenaries and coming to six others, well groomed and muscled steeds. "Three hundred for three horses."

"Sounds fair." Ike removed the sack of gold from around his waist and dropped it into Gambit's awaiting hand. He took three out of their pens, leading them outside along with the others. "Mount up mercenaries, we have a long road ahead of us.

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"Too bad it just can't be like last time. Luxurious company the whole way to the capital." Boyd said with a sigh, sitting heavily on a tree stump. Once again he and Ike were on guard duty together.

Ike snorted in response, leaning against a tree. "It was over done."

"But at least it was nice." Boyd pointed out reasonably.

"Too nice."

"Augh, I forget that you don't take well to the fancy life. Content being dirty eh?"

"If I can get the work done by the end of the day without flaunting myself about, I'll be content."

"What a simple boy." Boyd snorted, fingering the hilt of his axe. "I suppose you were completely miserable for that year you had to spend in the palace."

"It was horrid. Everything was so fancy and clean. I hate those big hats that some of the Lords wore… they were always getting in the way of something or another." Ike replied. Really, staying in the palace hadn't been so bad, but he'd never tell Boyd _why _it hadn't been so bad.

Boyd chuckled. "Never been a big fan of the poofy hats myself, but I could picture you in one. A big green one with one of those huge feathers."

Ike wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I think I'm offended by that statement."

"I'll let you think that then. Come on, you know you've always wanted to wear one of those big hats." Boyd hedged, winking at Ike.

Ike cast him a wilting glower before looking away into the forest. The sound of clopping hooves and the snicker of a horse caught his attention. "Who goes there?" He called out into the darkening forest.

For a moment there was nothing but silence, then the horse and rider appeared out of the dark. Ike recognized the short girl from Gambit's corral, only now instead of wearing a plain brown dress, she wore a simple pair of black pants, which covered her brown boots and a midnight blue t-shirt, with the same color cloak over her attire. She wore a brown leather belt loosely around her waist, an iron sword dangling there along with a few lock picks.

"Your Commander Ike, right?" The girl asked, halting her mount.

"I am. And you would be-?" Ike asked.

"My name is Haniyasu, but please just call me Hani." The girl said a bit timidly, her voice quiet. "My father told me all about you last night, and I would like to come with you to Sienne."

"What do you do, exactly?" Ike asked, more than willing to hire on the girl, but curious all the same.

Hani straightened herself proudly. "I'm a treasure hunter."

"You mean a thief?" Boyd asked skeptically.

Hani glared at him. "Not a thief, a treasure hunter. Get it right."

"Well then, Hani, come with me, I'll introduce you to the group. Boyd, can you handle watch without me?"

Boyd snorted. "Of course I can. Who do you think I am?"

Ike nodded, leading Hani into camp. They were greeted by brief stares, and then everyone went about their business, throwing logs on the small fire and setting up sleeping rolls. "Make yourself at home. Report to Soren, he's the mage in black." Ike gestured towards where the tactician was reading by firelight before heading back out to accompany Boyd.

"Umm, excuse me?" Hani asked uncertainly.

"New member?" The sage asked without looking up.

"Yes. What exactly-"

The sage stood, beckoning to Mist, who bounded over. "She'll introduce you to everyone. Welcome to the Greil Mercenaries."

"Hi! I'm Mist! Who are you?"

"Haniyasu, but just call me Hani. Everyone else does."

"Well then Hani, come with me. I'm the traditional welcome wagon so it seems." Mist cast a glare to Soren who completely ignored the look. "Anyways, Mister Book-Face over there is Soren, the tactician. The red headed kid playing with the fire is Pyren, the runner-up tactician… just incase Soren explodes from all the stuff he's tried to cram into his head."

"You should be quiet about what you know nothing of." Soren said with a snort, resuming his place by the fire.

Mist stuck her tongue out at the back of his head as Rolf ran up, Alec at his side.

"New recruit?" Rolf asked with out preamble. Mist nodded and the two boys grinned. "It's initiation time then."

"Initiation?" Hani asked uncertainly, not liking the looks on the two boys faces.

"What initiation?" Mist snorted. "There's never been initiation."

"That's because we've always been too busy to do it." Rolf said with an air of authority. "Now, we're just sitting around. So, it's initiation time."

Mist rolled her eyes. "No way. What do you plan to do? Make her jump from a tree?"

"Nothing life threatening!" Alec said indignantly. "It's not a cult you know."

"I've been here longer than you have you know." Mist replied.

"Oh yeah… I'd almost forgotten about that." Alec said thoughtfully, exchanging glances with Rolf. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. Come with us!" He grabbed Hani's hand and dragged her off into the woods, Rolf snickering and Mist trailing behind.

"What are you planning to do?" Hani asked uncertainly.

"I swear it won't be harmful!" Rolf said.

"Maybe utterly embarrassing…" Alec added.

"But not harmful!" Rolf finished, arriving at a stream.

Mist quirked an eyebrow. "Are you going to try and drown her? Because if you are, I'll tell Ike and he'll put you on cleaning duty for six months."

"That would be life threatening, now wouldn't it?" Alec sighed in exasperation. "Now, initiation is much more fun."

"That water looks cold…" Hani piped up.

"Exactly. You have to swim across it." Rolf said exchanging grins with Alec. "Without clothes."

Mist gaped at the two, and Hani's face heated up. In one swift movement she had drawn a heavy looking book from the depths of her robes and whacked the two boys on the head before stomping back to camp, Mist in tow, giggling at the hurt and astonished look on the two boy's faces.

"The nerve of some boys, I swear." Hani grumbled indignantly, clutching her book to her chest.

"I've never known Rolf to do something like that. He's not normally perverted." Mist said readily, casting a look over her shoulder, not seeing the boys.

"It happens, unfortunately." Hani said with a sigh. "I've got younger brothers. They're the reason I never wear skirts."

Mist giggled. "I guess I'm lucky. Ike would beat anyone to a pulp if they tried something with me. Speaking of trying things…" Mist tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Don't go near Gatrie. He's a real womanizer. Give him an inch and he'll take a mile if you know what I mean."

"Noted. Thanks for the tip." Hani replied, a small smile appearing on her face. "Anyone else I should look out for?"

"Not really, Shinon is a grump though. Never try and wake him in the morning, he'll kill you." Mist said with a small shiver. "Especially if he has a hang-over. That's the worst time. Oh, and don't get on Pyren's bad side like Max did. He'll light you on fire if you annoy him."

Hani giggled. "Sounds like I've found myself with quite the characters."

"Oh, it gets better when you get to know them." Mist replied with a smile. "Like Boyd, he's always making fun of me and pestering Ike."

"I'll keep an eye out for that then." Hani agreed, taking a seat by the fire next to Mist.

Mari and Mennen bounded over in their cat forms, the latter tumbling to the ground as his sister tackled him.

"Hani, this is Mari and Mennen." She gestured towards the cats in turn, and both perked up their ears.

Mari relinquished her spot on top of Mennen and sat, looking entirely noble and prideful. "Nice to meet you beorc." Her whole visage was completely ruined when Mennen tackled her to the ground. She swatted at him playfully before darting off into the forest, where there was a startled cry from Rolf and Alec, shortly followed by a yowl, then a plea for forgiveness.

Mist shook her head slowly. "They always get into so much trouble." The forest where the two laguz had entered suddenly erupted in chaos. Mennen limped out, an arrow sticking out of his thigh, Mari following closely. Alec emerged afterwards, supporting a clawed Rolf.

"Oh my…" Mist stood quickly, brandishing her healing staff.

Hani shook her head at the sight, returning to her horse and retrieving her sleeping roll.

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**Haniyasu (Hani for short) **belongs to **Picup**.


	9. Chapter 9: Vessel of the Goddess

**Chapter 9: Vessel of the Goddess **

"The City of Sienne." Hani breathed, wonder apparent in her voice.

"What a terrible place." Jason said darkly. "The only trees here are trapped within stone walls."

"Hey, you're the guardian of the forest right?" Shinon asked.

"Of course I am. I told you that already." Jason said in a matter-of-fact kind of way.

"You don't want to hurt the trees right?" A small grin started to creep on to the red-headed archer's face.

A melodramatic gasp escaped Jason. "Never would I think of harming a tree!"

"Then how did you make your bow and arrows? They're made of wood." The grin had gotten wider at this point.

Jason snorted. "You can't hurt a tree if it's already dead."

"Dead trees make bad bows. I know from experience." Shinon pointed out. "The arrows shatter on impact."

Jason glared at Shinon. "Then you must be bad at it. I've had to replace my arrow tips more than the shafts."

"Uh huh. Totally believing you there." Shinon turned forward once more, the grin now a smirk.

"If you can not wrap your mind around that simple fact, then it is no fault of mine." Jason said, turning forward as well.

"Do you know where we're supposed to go now?" Ike asked Elincia.

"Mainal Cathedral. A certain guard has been told to watch for me. When we arrive, he will take us in under the accusation that we trespassed on holy ground." Elincia said, sounding confident.

"And if we really get arrested for trespassing on holy ground?" Ike asked skeptically, not liking the idea of being thrown into prison.

"Then we will have run into an unfortunate situation." Elincia replied, a frown marring her normally cheerful face.

"Then let us hope that everything goes as planned." Geoffrey said, appearing at Elincia's side.

The mercenaries rode for what seemed hours trying to reach the center of the enormous city, the Tower looming over them the whole time. Soon, Mainal Cathedral stood before them in all it's glory, a host of sentries at the gate.

With a determined look in her eyes, Elincia rode up to the massive gates, Ike and Geoffrey beside her.  
"Hey you! What do you think you're doing? This is holy ground!" Someone shouted from above.

"Drop your weapons, you will be taken into custody for trespassing." An older soldier appearing to be in his forties walked forward, five men trailing behind him. He flashed Elincia a small smile then it disappeared before any of the men around him could see.

Unfortunately, Ike had forgotten to tell everyone else of the plan, and some panicked.

"What do you mean holy ground? Was there a sign or something we missed?" Max asked loudly.

Pyren began to mumble, taking out his tome of Fire. "I'll not be taken into custody."

"Hold your spell." Soren said darkly, casting Pyren a glower over his shoulder. "You are strong, but I am sure that not even you could hold your own against the whole Begnion army."

If looks could kill, Soren would have been struck dead on the spot, but Pyren grudgingly put his book away, dismounting along with everyone else and being led within Mainal Cathedral to be judged for their crime.

Mainal Cathedral was huge on the outside, and seemed even bigger, if at all possible, on the inside. The ceiling loomed overhead, pictures of angels and devils floating across it. Balconies and catwalks criss-crossed overhead, giving the place a look of a hanging city. In the center of the dome grew a large tree with silvery leaves and covered in white blossoms, which swayed gently in a breeze that was apparently placed only around the tree. On the opposite side of the large door way, a giant staircase of white marble rose from the floor flanked by two large statues of beautiful women with upraised hands and a smiling faces. The staircase led to a set of large doors, engraved with runes and inlaid with gold.

The older solider escorted the party around the tree and up the stairs, much to the surprise of the mercenaries and the rest of the guards. Elincia only held her head high and continued to follow the guard, undaunted by the stares she received from the priests, Bishops and Clerics wandering around the cathedral.

The huge doors swung open on their own accord, revealing a high-ceilinged room large enough to fit a legion of wyvern riders. Delicate and ornate tapestries hung from pillars, depicting all of Begnion's history. In the center of the room stood the Apostle, Empress Sanaki, a girl about as old as Rolf with flowing red robes. Tanith stood at her side, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword in a relaxed manner.

Elincia dipped her head, the Apostle nodding in recognition before turning to the guard captain. "You may leave now."

"As you wish Apostle." The older solider bowed low, the guards that had accompanied him doing much the same before the whole troop filed out of the room, the massive doors closing behind them.

"Welcome Queen Elincia, it has been a long while since last we met." The Apostle said, a smile on her face. "I hope that your trip here was not too grueling."

"We met a few difficulties on the way here, but the journey has been fine." Elincia replied.

"I see that you have recruited new members." The Apostle said, eying the mercenary group. "Tanith, please escort them to the guest rooms, I am sure that they are all travel weary."

Tanith bowed, beckoning to the mercenary group and leading them through a door in the side of the massive room.

"Some of them looked shocked." The Apostle piped up as soon as they had all exited the room.

"Not all of them knew that they were traveling with royalty." Elincia replied.

"I see. Enough of the pleasantries then. I must tell you my exact situation. Actually, I'm glad that you have acquired a few more members." She turned her attention to Ike, who looked rather uncomfortable being so close to royalty once more. "As I'm sure you know, there are threats of a rebellion within my country, and over half are seriously considering separating from the country and becoming part of Daein. The senators who are planning to rebel are also in charge of my spy network, so assignations are out of the question. This is why I decided to ask for help from a different country with my affairs."

"What is included with our duty, exactly?" Ike asked, remembering the last time he was set to work for the Apostle. Last time it had been trying to find evidence of laguz slavery.

"This time I would like for you to neutralize the threats that the rebelling senators propose. You may use any technique that you want, but if the other senators catch wind of this, there will be no easy way out." Sanaki replied. "Most likely you will have to infiltrate a senator's house and kill him, along with his trustees and a good portion of the elite section of their army. It's daunting, and I would be willing to lend you as many troops as I can without being noticed. For the task of infiltration, I believe that Queen Elincia has a man on duty."

"I do. His name is Aramin, a highly recommended Assassin from our spy system." Elincia said with a nod. "I think he's around here somewhere actually. He departed from Crimea for Begnion before we did."

As if he were waiting for that line, the Assassin removed himself from the shadow of a pillar, surprising both Ike and Sanaki. "I am honored to hear such high praise from you My Queen." Aramin said casually, stepping towards them. His shoulder-length hair was loose and messy, but still clean. He wore dark clothes: a black shirt and very dark blue pants tucked into his boots accompanied by a black cloak with a hood. On his belt were three daggers and a pouch of thieving equipment. He was rather short and slim to the point of being scrawny, his black clothes making him appear all the smaller.

"It seems that my security is not up to scratch." Sanaki said to herself. "I will hold a meeting with what is left of my trusted senators and Queen Elincia will accompany me. From there, you will be informed of what duties you are to carry out." Her gaze passed from Aramin to Ike. "For now, you are dismissed to do as you please."

Ike managed a stiff bow before walking out the door the rest of his mercenaries had been taken through, Aramin not trailing far behind.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that someone was trying to set the Empress up for assignation, seeing as how I got in so easily." Aramin said in a conversational tone. "Even the Crimean Castle had better security, and our country is still in tatters."

"Perhaps she was. It seems that not many are happy with her decision to ban laguz slavery." Ike replied in much the same manner, watching the spy out of the corner of his eye.

"Interesting place, Begnion. Their customs are strange. Daein too, now that I think about it. Then again I suppose their women make up for the odd customs." A sly grin appeared on Aramin's face. "Did you know it's almost always cold in Daein? Especially at night… well that is unless you-"

"IKE!" Someone screamed from down the hallway. There was a sudden flurry of activity as several of the mercenaries ran down the hall to where the scream came from.

Ike bolted down the hallway, recognizing his sister's scream. The door flew open as he drew his sword. Inside Mist had drawn her sword and had her back to the wall, cuts dripping blood down the front of her dress. In the middle of the room crouched a black tiger, Mari unconscious between it's claws.

The beast looked up, snarling at Ike for the disturbance in it's kill before turning and leaping out of the five story window, darting through the courtyard and into the cover of the forest.

Rhys appeared next to Ike, walking into the room and healing the wounded cat, Mennen brushing past him and sitting next to his fallen sister. Mist spotted Ike, still standing in the doorway and rushed over, dropping her sword and clinging to him tightly.

"It just came out of nowhere and attacked! Mari tried to help, but s-she just…" Her words were lost in a great wave of tears after that.

Ike sheathed his sword and wrapped both arms around her, turning to find Titania and Soren watching the scene with blank faces. "Assemble a small party to search the ground for that tiger and where it came from. I'll have to speak to the Apostle about this."

The two nodded, heading down the hallway to find Shinon and Rolf.

Aramin walked past silently, inspecting the window the tiger had used as an escape route. A few moments of silence later and he turned to Ike, a grim look set on his features. "This was an inside job. Someone was trying to assassinate the ones in this room."

"Why would someone want Mist dead?" Ike asked skeptically.

"Does she know something important?" Aramin's eyes searched the room for anything else suspicious.

"No, I don't think so… Unless…" Ike studied his sister carefully.

"… Unless they don't want me to tell the Apostle about mother's song…" Mist said quietly, a shiver racking her whole frame.

"Song?" Aramin asked.

"The Galdr of Sealing. To trap the Dark God…" Ike replied. "We need to tell the Empress."

"Dark God? You mean Lehran's Medallion?" Aramin said. "Very interesting. I need to go find a friend of mine." He walked calmly out of the room, disappearing around a corner.

"We've got them." Titania said, Soren, Shinon, and Oscar following close behind.

"Good. Hurry and search the grounds. See if you can't keep the tiger alive, we might be able to find something out about where it came from." Ike said, Mist finally releasing the front of his shirt.

The four headed off to find Tanith and procure their horses, while Ike took Mist back into the throne room.

They were met with bewildered stares, Empress Sanaki was the first to speak up.

"What is the meaning of this Commander Ike?" She asked, folding her hands within the depths of her robes.

"We were just attacked." Ike said, an arm around the still frightened Mist. "A black tiger came through her window and nearly killed her."

"A laguz got through security?" Sanaki asked, sounding quite shocked. "That should be impossible. People are one thing, but tigers, even in their human form, are huge. There is no excuse for this trespassing. Thank you for bringing this problem to my attention. I will immediately call a meeting of council to deal with it. For now, I will post extra guards around the grounds so that another break-in will not occur." With that, the Empress clapped her hands together, a flurry of hidden guards coming to her. She was escorted out of the room, Elincia and Ike being carried out through the guest doors by five more guards.

"I've never heard of such a thing happening. There is without a doubt someone within the Empress' court that wishes her dead." Elincia said, sounding a bit angry. "Who was hurt in the attack?"

"Mari is unconscious, and Mist got scratched up pretty badly." Ike replied, surprised by Elincia's change in mood. "Titania is leading a group around the grounds to see if they can find the tiger."

"Ike?" Mist asked, tugging gently on his sleeve. "That laguz, it was different."

"Different how?" Ike asked, concern coloring his voice.

"It wasn't sane, but it wasn't Feral. There was something wrong with it. I don't know. It was tainted… or possessed or something." A shiver that had nothing to do with the temperature shook her small frame. "It was so weird, I could _feel _it. A heavy feeling, and it was so dark and cold… Something bad is happening out there, I know it."

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Ike woke to the sound of someone pounding on his door the next morning. He looked out the window and saw that it was still dark. He almost rolled back over and fell asleep again, but the irritated voice of Soren penetrated through the thick wooden doors.

"Ike I swear that if you don't wake up and open this door within the next five seconds I'm going to burn it down!" Soren yelled.

Ike grumbled and opened the door, finding a frazzled looking Soren standing before him. "What in the world are you doing up so early?"

"I'm doing what you ordered us to do." Soren replied, stalking off down the hallway with Ike in tow. "We found the tiger. But it gets better. Not only was there the tiger, but two cats and a hawk. All black colored."

Ike quirked an eyebrow at the back of Soren's head. Soren had never acted like this before. "What else did you find out?" asked Ike.

"They can talk, but they can't transform. They're partially mad, but they know exactly what they're doing. They were ordered, or their being controlled to try and kill you and Mist. Apparently there's a whole legion of these things, and they're supposed to try and kill the Empress as well." Soren replied in the same hurried way. "They won't tell us who is controlling them though."

Ike walked forward, catching Soren's shoulder and stopping him. "Soren, what's wrong with you? You never act like this."

Soren frowned, shrugging off Ike's hand. "I don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing wrong with me. Maybe it is too early in the morning for you. You're hallucinating. Come on, I'm not sure how long those prison bars will hold." He turned back around, stalking down the hallway once more.

Ike blinked, following the sage and wondering if he really was just imagining things. 'No, I know I'm not. He's acting strange, just like last time.'

Soren lead Ike through the endless hallways and through several courtyards before they arrived at the prison house. It was dark and dank inside, the iron cages holding men and women alike. Some prisoners rattling the bars, others looking up to him defiantly. He heard yowls and roars accompanied by the occasional screech from deep within the prison, along with the curses of the three mercenaries guarding the beasts.

Just as Soren had said, all of the laguz within the cage were pitch black, even their eyes were black. They stared at Ike and Soren as they came into view, a muttered curse coming from one of the laguz.

"Commander Ike." Titania nodded. "This is what we found. Has Soren filled you in?"

"He has. Where were they?" Ike asked.

"Hidden in the damned forest." Shinon snorted. "Stupid beasts lead us through all sorts of nasty places in there."

"We found this in their hideout." Oscar handed him a pendant, a white bird of some sort surrounded by black flames. "We don't know what it might mean though."

Ike studied the pendant for a bit before handing it back. "I can't think of anything either. Maybe it's the sign of a cult or something?"

A rumbling laugh escaped the black tiger. "You will not survive." It hissed, it's voice strangely distorted. "Our brothers will come for you." A screech came from the hawk before it started glowing a faint white color. The cats and the tiger started glowing in much the same way.

The four laguz dropped dead on the spot, the black coloration seeping from them and onto the floor as they transformed back to their human states.

"What in the world was that?" Oscar asked.

"Whatever magic distorted these creatures must have worn off." Soren said, looking into the cage with a somber face. "Or, it's possible that whoever was controlling them killed them so that we couldn't try and force any information out of them." He took the pendant from Oscar, studying it carefully. "I will try and find out the meaning of this pendant, if there is one at all." He turned and left, everyone staring after the sage.

Shinon's snort broke the silence. "Creepy little kid. All he did was stare and stay quiet while we were out there. Now he's all trying to be helpful. _Magic users_." He said the last two words like a curse before heading out after Soren.

"What do we do about them Commander?" Titania asked, gesturing towards the dead Laguz.

"I'll tell the warden what happened on the way out." Ike replied, following the irritable red-head.

The warden seemed generally unsurprised when Ike told him that he now held four dead laguz in his cells. He replied with: "Eh, it was bound to happen. Always does with their type.", before heading back the way the mercenaries had come from.

Titania touched Ike's shoulder gently, watching after the warden. "I noticed that something was bugging Soren, did you find anything out? He won't talk to any of us."

Ike shook his head. "No, he was like this last time we visited Begnion too."

"Maybe he has bad memories of this place." Oscar said, walking outside and grabbing the reigns to his horse. "I don't know why he would though, he's never said anything about being here before."

"He's never said a lot of things." Titania pointed out, climbing onto her own horse and helping Ike up.

"I'll take care of it. I'll find out what's bugging him… somehow." The prospect didn't see too good to Ike. After all, Soren never shared his past with anyone. Perhaps he had told his father, but his father was dead, and so too was Soren's secret.


	10. Chapter 10: Kidnapped!

**Chapter 10: Kidnapped!**

"We've got an assignment." Soren said abruptly, walking into Ike's room.

"What?" Ike asked, caught off guard by the sage's sudden appearance.

"The Empress has told us what our first job is. We're supposed to be heading out today if we wish to reach the Senator's lands within the week."

"It's going to take a whole week to get there?" Ike asked skeptically. Begnion was a big place sure, but a whole week…

"Yes it is. We'll have to travel out of the city in secret, meet up with the Empress' troops, and continue on to the border of the Serenes forest. Concerning the matter of yesterday, the Apostle has agreed to send an envoy to Gallia and retrieve Reyson and Leanne so that Mist can teach them and the Apostle the song that will seal the Dark God." He quickly turned and left after his report, leaving Ike standing in his room blinking after the moody sage.

"Commander Ike! Everyone is getting ready. Any orders?" Titania asked, poking her head into his room.

"No, just make sure they do it quickly. I want to get out of here as quickly as possible." Ike replied, strapping on Ragnell.

Titania flashed him a quick salute then disappeared once more around the door frame.

Ike walked out into the hall way, seeing Mia, Rhys and Mist walking together, their packs on their shoulders. He needed to find Soren and figure out what in the world was wrong with him. Whatever it was, it needed to be taken care of. He couldn't have his tactician not thinking straight, that could turn disastrous on the field.

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"Senator Mirada…" A man cloaked in black bowed before an elaborately dressed Senator. "There are reports that a small force is heading this way."

"What banners do they fly?" Asked the Senator, fingering his small goatee.

"None Sir, though some of the newer recruits recognize some of the members of the group." The man replied. "They say that they are the same people that attacked Duke Oliver's castle."

"I see." A small grin spread across the Senator's face. "Rally my men. It shouldn't take much to defeat them. After all, who was Duke Oliver to me?"

"No one Sir." The man in black replied. "What about the prisoner?" An earth rattling roar came from within the depths of the Senators' castle, causing the maids to drop their mops and other cleaning utensils.

"Put him on the front lines, make sure that he has taken his potion so that he does not turn on our men." Mirada said thoughtfully. "It will be most interesting to see how the little army fares against a dragon." The grin on his face became more sinister as he thought of the giant red dragon being kept in his cellar. He would delight in the dragon ripping apart the intruders who were coming to try and knock down his door. "Very interesting indeed." Mirada said once again, chuckling to himself and retreating further into the depths of his elaborate home.

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"I knew it. I knew that we were way too obvious." Pyren stated irritably. "See now? They're amassing the whole army against us." He pulled his Tome of Fire from the depths of his robes and opened it..

"Alright, so much for a sneak attack." Boyd replied. "Now what?"

"What do you suggest Soren?" Ike asked. He was met with silence and a blank stare. "Soren?"

Soren blinked a few times, looking back at Ike like he had three heads. "It doesn't look like we will be able to do much about them finding us short of going away and trying again. Normal tactics should work, it doesn't look like there are many coming out to meet us. Horsemen in front, archers in back. Cyrus, you can penetrate their lines the easiest. Fly overhead and attack the archers." The hawk nodded and transformed, flying directly into the sun.

"Alright. Mercenaries, form up and move out!" Ike shouted. There was a sudden flurry of activity as the mercenaries around him dismounted, with the exception of Titania, Geoffrey and Oscar.

"This is flat ground, so you can move far on your horses. If you do though, it might be a while before we can catch up and help you." Soren warned, eyeing the soldiers gathering before them. "It doesn't look like they have any catapults, but they have archers around the gates. Stay away from them if you can and let the soldiers come out of reach of the archers range before you attack them."

Titania and Oscar nodded before prodding their horses, Oscar taking out his bow and Titania holding a throwing axe. Geoffrey trailed slightly behind the two, a long bow in hand.

Mari and Mennen bolted after the horses, quickly out distancing the creatures and attacking a small group of lance wielders head on. The soldiers rushed forward, forsaking the protection of their archers and attacked the two laguz, paying no attention to the horsemen coming at them. A screech signaled the arrival of Cyrus as he bombarded the wall, knocking arches off and killing those that didn't get out of the way fast enough.

Ike and Boyd ran up together, clearing out a large portion of the soldiers and letting Mari and Mennen escape to the rear to be healed of their wounds. Flashes of Fire and Lightning accompanied by screams of agony erupted as Soren and Pyren went to work. There were occasionally flashes of light and praises to Ashera as soldiers were struck dead.

Alec dove to the ground, narrowly being missed by a stray arrow. Sure, the soldiers were distracted with the assault, but most of the long range archers had yet to be attacked by Cyrus, who was having difficulties of his own against the bow wielders.

A cry came from Alec's side and he looked in time to see Rolf get shot in the leg. The green headed boy winced as he yanked out the arrow, pulling a small vial from a pouch and consuming it, the wound instantly disappearing.

"Are you Okay?" Alec asked, drawing an arrow and searching the wall for the archers who were trying to stick him like a pincushion.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've had worse." Rolf said, a bit too happily for a guy who had just gotten shot. "I can't believe they could aim for me all the way out here." He grumbled, shooting into the flurry of activity on the battlefield and scoring a hit on a soldier.

Alec only nodded in agreement. Oh well, at least he had a way to burn off his energy. Fighting was fun. He loaded his bow, shot a soldier in the arm, and narrowly missed hitting Titania. "Whoops…" There was a blast of wind as Cyrus landed beside them in his human form, a few feathers missing from his wings.

"There are a lot of archers up there, you might want to stay hidden for awhile." As if on cue, an arrow whizzed by, nearly catching Cyrus in the wing. He ducked behind a tree shortly after. "I'll have to stay back here until I have enough energy to transform again."

"You never did tell me why you can't just hold your form." Alec said, hiding behind a tree as well, Rolf doing the same.

"Now is not the time to be explaining it either." Cyrus replied.

"You're no fun." Alec said, pouting and looking around his tree, aiming an arrow and letting it fly.

"You're just too curious for your own good." Cyrus said, somehow managing to retain a calm voice.

"Gah!" Hani yelled, trying very hard not to be impaled on a lance as a soldier came running after her. "I know I'm definitely _not _supposed to be fighting now!" She blocked a swipe of the lance, rolling around a tree to put some distance between her and the soldier.

"Pretty girls shouldn't be on the field if they can't fight." The soldier replied mockingly, hitting Hani's sword aside and knocking it to the ground.

She frantically pulled out a dagger, backing up against a tree at the same time.

The soldier laughed harshly. "Say hello to your comrades for me in hell." He lifted his lance to plunge it through her chest, then fell over dead, an arrow through the side of his head. Hani looked around, spotting Alec and Rolf.

"Thank me later!" Alec yelled, waving before disappearing back into the trees.

Hani sighed, sheathing her sword and picking up her dagger. "Maybe I can find some loot around here instead of fighting." She headed out around the outskirts of the battlefield, slinking from shadow to tree, making sure not to be seen. She came to the side of the huge castle, spotting a huge open window and crawling through it. She landed silently, creeping through the halls, looking on in awe at all the very heavy and undoubtedly expensive statues lining the walls. A golden trinket on one of the statues caught her eye and she took it, hiding it within her cloak before continuing on.

Slowly, the sounds of battle died away within the stone walls of the castle. Hani was too caught up in all of the expensive items around her to notice where she was going and slipped into a room, coming face to face with a very large, very red, and very angry looking dragon.

A scream came from her that echoed throughout the whole castle, a thunderous roar accompanying it. Hani tried to turn and run back out the way she came, but the dragon put a huge clawed hand on the door, slamming it shut and sealing off any way of escape.

-8080808080-

Ike pounded on the front doors, frustrated beyond belief. The original battle had ended, but more soldiers just kept pouring in from all sides. The Mercenaries had put their backs to the castle doors to keep from being bombarded, the frontlines switching often to keep weapon breakage to a minimal and for the weary Mercenaries to rest and get healed. They had to find a window or _something _to get into. Fighting inside the castle would be a lot easier than fighting outside it. If only the stupid door would give way.

Much to his surprise, the stupid door _did _give way, but he suddenly wished that it hadn't. The soldiers that had been attacking suddenly backed off, some running in fear, for in the door way stood a red dragon, a limp bundle held in one hand while the other rested on the door frame, wood splintering beneath it's claws.

There was a moment of silence as the dragon's eyes surveyed the scene, finally resting on Ike. It sucked in a massive breath, the mercenaries before it scattering as a wave of fire was unleashed from it's maw and melted the stone of the stairway.

"It's got Hani!" Mist cried, shielding her eyes from the intense heat as her horse reared and tried to bolt away from the monster.

"How did she get there?" Ike yelled back as arrows arched towards the dragon only to shatter against the hard scales of its chest. At least all of the soldiers had run away… "Soren! Start using your Thunder magic! We need to try and save Hani."

The sage came forward, muttering the beginnings of a spell. The dragon unleashed a roar and spread it's wings, taking off and flying over the castle grounds.

"Damn." Soren cursed bitterly, snapping his book closed with a crack. "I can't hit it if it's airborne."

"I'll see if I can bring it back down." Cyrus said, transforming and taking off after the dragon.

"This is exactly why I need more winged units." Ike grumbled, turning abruptly to face the gathered mercenaries. "Move in to the castle. We need to finish this job before some other creature pops out and takes the rest of us."

"What about Hani?" Mist asked.

"Cyrus has a handle on the situation. Soren, stay out here and help where you can. Titania and Oscar, I want you to stay out here with him just in case those soldiers make another appearance. If they do, I want you to join up with us as soon as you can. By then we should have the Senator in our control."

Oscar and Titania nodded, staying behind with Soren as the rest of the company headed into the castle, stepping around the melted ruins of the stairs.

-8080808080-

Hani awoke slowly, feeling wind rushing past her ears. She heard a sort of dull _thump _around her. When she opened her eyes, she screamed louder than she thought humanly possible. Gigantic claws griped her a bit tighter, but not in a threatening way. The dragon growled as a hawk dove out of the sky, attacking what it could.

Her stomach did a flip as she looked down at the ground to find that they were high above a forest. She clung to the claw holding her tightly and closed her eyes, willing herself to be back on the ground. There was a screech from the hawk chasing after them and the dragon holding her roared, jerking to the side and loosening it's grip on her.

She opened her eyes once more and saw that they were nearly stationary in the air, the hawk floating around them and trying to claw at the dragon's head. With a roar the dragon swatted at the hawk, catching the tip of it's wing.

"Cyrus!" Hani screamed, seeing the hawk disappear into the greenery of the forest.

With a lurch they began moving again, and Hani fainted.

-8080808080-

"Senator Mirada!" Ike yelled, spotting the man behind a whole deployment of troops. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. If you give up now we'll take you into custody! Fight and you won't live to see another day!"

The Senator's laugh echoed in the large thrown room. "Give up? Don't you see that you are out numbered? My forces will destroy you. Men, kill these poor fools. End their misery."

A loud battle cry came from the gathered troops as all but six well armored men charged towards the weary Mercenary group.

"Do you think now would be a good time to call for reinforcements?" Pyren asked sarcastically.

"Probably." Ike replied calmly.

Pyren rolled his eyes, running back towards the rear of the group where Max was helping to support Rhys while Mist healed him. "Max, run outside and tell Titania or Oscar to signal for reinforcements."

"Why me?" He asked, not of fear, but general irritation. "I can fight too. Especially against a man who enslaves laguz."

"Because these are tight quarters. We can only use so many people here on the front and second lines. The bowmen are even taking up longbows so that they can shoot over the front lines. There's no room for someone who can't use a long range weapon." Pyren stated, sounding a bit exasperated. "Just go get them alright?" He turned quickly on his heel, running back towards the secondary lines.

"No need for me huh?" Max grumbled to himself as Mist finished healing up the large wound on Rhys.

"He just doesn't like you." Mist said calmly, passing her healing staff over Mia as well. "Don't let what he says get to you."

"Eh, fine. But one of these times…" Max cast one last look to where the rest of the mercenaries were before heading outside to find Titania or Oscar. He was met with shocked stares when he came out of the main doors. "What?"

Titania pointed to a shrinking dot on the horizon. "It killed Cyrus."

Max blinked a few times, watching the dot disappear. "You're not serious?"

"Completely serious." Soren replied harshly, his voice but a whisper. "What did you come out here for?"

Max was silent a moment before answering. "We need reinforcements. One of you two needs to go get them."

"I'll go." Oscar offered. "I won't be gone long." He nudged his horse and the beast took off at a gallop.

"Now what?" Max asked quietly.

"We wait and we go searching for his body in the morning." Soren replied coldly, his face becoming a mask of indifference.

-8080808080-

Cyrus winced as he transformed back into his human form, inspecting the damage to his wing. Quite a few feathers had been taken off and it seemed to be bleeding pretty badly. No permanent damage, but it wasn't pretty. The fall hadn't been particularly nice either, and he knew that he would be grounded for a long while.

He busied himself with pulling twigs and leaves out of his wings before standing and trying to recall his sense of direction.

"It could be worse." He said to himself with a snort. "There could be some cats around here looking for an easy meal." His wing throbbed and he put his hand over the back of his shoulder, feeling hot blood trickling from his back. "Not good." A twig snapped near him and he spun around, seeing nothing. "Now I'm just being paranoid." He turned once more, heading to where he thought the castle was. Hopefully they would be looking for him.

"Never again will I go chasing after an angry dragon, no matter who is in it's clutches." He said to himself, a determined look in his eyes. "Still, I wonder if she'll be alright. What am I saying? Of course she won't be alright. She could be dead right now because I got swatted out of the sky like a cat playing with a fly." He continued to walk in silence for a while, feeling distinctly light headed.

'Perhaps I should rest, it's getting dark…' He thought, looking up at the sky. He eyed the trees around him, debating whether he should risk flying up into one. Looking around at the forest, he decided against sleeping on the ground and spread his injured wings, flying with some difficulty into the nearest tree branch and settling down for the night. His thoughts turned to the hyperactive beorc boy he had been traveling with for the past few months. "I just hope haven't gotten into any trouble Alec…"


	11. Chapter 11: Branded

**Chapter 11: Branded **

Hani woke, feeling something poking into her back. Upon further inspection, she found it to be a twig. 'Why am I sleeping on a twig? I should be in-' Then she remembered the goings on before she fainted, and had the sudden urge to scream. She remained silent though, looking around. It seemed like she was in a tent, though it was a living tent. At her back was the rock hard underside of the dragon that had kidnapped her, above her the wing of said dragon.

Standing silently, she move the wing aside and started creeping away, hoping against all hope that the dragon was asleep. Lady Luck seemed to have a grudge against her though, for the great beast reached out and dragged her back to it's side, a soft rumble coming from deep within it's throat.

Swallowing her fear, Hani fixed the dragon with a glower. "Ok, what do you want from me?" She asked loudly, as if the beast was partially deaf.

The dragon blinked, studying her carefully, one claw reaching around and touching her hair with surprising delicacy. "I was mistaken." It said, the voice obviously male.

Hani blinked a few times, wondering if she had heard the thing right. "Excuse me?"

"In my warped state, I thought you were Svtlania. You have the same eyes…" The dragon sighed sadly, the gust nearly knocking Hani over. "I am sorry for taking you from your friends."

"Oh um, that's okay." Hani took a seat on the ground, staring intently at the dirt. "So, who are you exactly?" She asked after a while.

"Veritar, the Castaway." He replied sadly.

"Oh well, Veritar… Why don't you transform? It's probably easier to talk to someone when you aren't five stories taller than them." She smiled, hoping that she could convince him to take her back without seeming entirely rude. He sounded like he had some problems after all.

"I can't." He replied simply, shrugging his massive shoulders.

"Why not?" Hani asked, generally curious.

"They drugged me back at that damn castle. Plus your friend took a lot out of me." He lifted a wing, showing quite a few puncture wounds. "I hope he is okay. I didn't want to hurt him so badly."

"Oh, you mean they tried to make you into a Feral One? Mist told me stories about how back in the war they warped laguz so that they would attack anything." Hani said, feeling less awkward about talking to a huge red dragon now that it talked back.

"I suppose that's what they were trying to do. I wasn't there long enough though." Veritar replied. "What were you beorc doing there anyway?"

"Freeing you I suppose." Hani replied with a shrug. "Laguz slaver is illegal, but some of the Senators, like the one that was holding you, chose to ignore that rule and keep laguz anyways."

Veritar snorted, a sound that startled Hani to the point where she nearly jumped a foot off the ground. "It takes a fool of a laguz to get captured like I did. I don't know what I was thinking, running right in the middle of a town."

"What are you doing outside of Goldoa? I thought dragons never left." Hani asked.

"It's a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it? I might bore you." Veritar asked, concern coloring his voice.

Hani gazed at the darkening sky and shrugged. "We might have a while to be here. Go ahead, I'll tell you some stuff too if you want."

"Alright then." The dragon sighed, his gaze drawn towards the horizon. "You asked for it…" A long sigh escaped him and he appeared to be deep in thought before he spoke up. "In the laguz world, everything is based on strength, including the monarchy. King Deghinsea is the strongest and one of the oldest dragons in Goldoa. I was a good friend of his son, Prince Kurthnaga, even though he was about 50 years younger than me. Kurthnaga had a sister, Svtlania and that's the reason your out here now. You do look a lot like her, but now I can clearly see your not a dragon at all, no offence."

"None taken."

"Anyway, I suppose that I knew Kurthnaga for about 20 years before I met his sister. That's when I made the mistake of falling in love with the Dragon King's daughter. We were together for about five more years before the King found out." Veritar paused briefly, a clawed hand reaching up to lie on his right arm where Hani had just realized a horrible scar marred the surface of his scales. "As soon as he found out, he approached me and told me I was forbidden to lay a hand on his daughter ever again. One thing lead to another and we ended up fighting. It was a terrible battle, and I lost horribly. I was lucky to escape with this scar and banishment. Now though, I travel the continent trying to get stronger so that maybe I can defeat King Deghinsea and regain my rights to be with Svtlania again."

Tears misted Hani's eyes as he finished his tale, her hands clasped before her. "What a romantic tale! That's so wonderful!" She wiped a tear from her eye, sniffling. "I hope that you'll become stronger so you can be with her! Oh this is just so sweet…"She suddenly snapped her fingers, the tears instantly disappearing from her eyes. "I know! You can come with us! We're going to be traveling all over Begnion battling with the Senators. I know you'd be a big help. What do you say?"

A small smile graced Veritar's face as he stared down at Hani. "Sure, why not? What could it hurt?"

"Yay!" Hani squealed. "Now, let's get back shall we? I swear I won't squirm around like last time when we fly back."

Veritar quirked an eyebrow. "No way am I flying. Not with how badly my wings are damaged."

"You mean… we have to walk? All the way back?" Hani asked, sounding severely disappointed.

"I'm afraid so." Veritar replied with a not. "I'm not looking forward to going through the forest like this either, but it can't be helped."

-8080808080-

"Are you sure that's it?" Aramin asked, buckling his belt back on as he studied his informant and current female companion.

"Absolutely sure. I wouldn't lie to _you._" She said sweetly, drawing out the last word. Aowmli Orindu, a former member of the Sacred Pegasus Knights stood before him, unabashedly bare after the night's escapades, her long blue hair flowing over her back untied. "There are some though. Like Thane. He's such an annoying git." Her pretty features contorted in a frown for a brief second.

"I'll make sure to say hi then." Aramin replied dully, his eyes straying to the skies. "Where's the other one?"

Aowmli giggled, grabbing her admittedly tight clothes. "When I told Rebecca that I was expecting you to come by, she bolted. Wonderful girl in battle, but it seems that she's a little shy around you."

A gruff laugh escaped Aramin as he imagined the raven-haired Pegasus Knight taking off at the sound of his name. "Tell her I send my love then."

"Hmm, alright. I might just accidentally keep it though." Aowmli warned, her voice playful.

"I don't think that would be too bad." He replied with a grin. "I'll talk to you again soon."

"You know where to find me." She winked at him, pulling on her shirt and searching around for her skirt.

Aramin headed towards the road nearby, drawing up his hood against the harsh winds. It was totally out of season for it to be this cold, but he thought nothing of it. His thoughts trailed instead to what Aowmli had told him.

Apparently a new cult had been forming out in the boonies of Begnion. It had started out with refugees of the war, just trying to survive, then the Senators had gotten a hold of it. They had backed the refugees with funds in exchange for services that only the loyals of Daein knew: How to warp laguz. After that the cult had exploded in numbers. There were hunting parties sent to Gallia and overseas looking for laguz so that they could experiment with them. Recently though, the magicians had come up with a way to control the Feral Ones completely, even managing to extend their lives to a normal span. That had been the rise of the Black Laguz.

He took out the pendant Aowmli had given him and examined it for a long moment. He had been told that the black flames represented the cult's work with the Black Laguz, and he knew from other informants that the Herons were the only creatures that could reverse the effects of the spells they put on the laguz. He had come to the startling realization that perhaps the cult was not only behind the assassination attempts that had been cropping up all over Begnion, but they were after the Herons as well. 'And the Herons have the Fire Emblem…' He thought grimly.

He pocketed the pendant, continuing down the dirt road with a thoughtful frown. That girl, Mist, that had been the target of the latest assassination attempt undoubtedly knew something that the Cult didn't want her to tell anyone. More specifically, to not tell the Apostle. His thoughts continued down that grim line until he heard the chink of armor and the clopping of horses hooves.

Marching in a long line before him was a whole platoon of soldiers, unmistakably Daein in their black and red armor. Aramin backed away and stood behind a tree, watching the procession go on. The force was too small to be an army, but plenty large enough to be a minor invading force. The party was comprised of mostly Paladins and other mounted units. There was a scattering of lance and sword users, as well as four wyvern flying overhead, apparently serving as a scouting unit.

In the center of the whole congregation was a lad on horseback, a sort of regal air about him. Aramin immediately recognized the boy as a Lord or some sort of nobility. At his side was a girl, about six years younger than the boy and bearing a striking resemblance to him even though her hair was a shade of dark blonde. 'A family outing in Begnion? Certainly a long way from home…' He looked around for the two's parents, but saw no adults that looked even remotely the same as the two children. "Interesting." He said to himself in a whisper before turning and disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

-8080808080-

"See, if we would have just used my tactics, there wouldn't be any problems with the Senator's extra men popping out of the walls." Pyren snorted, glancing back at the dead bodies of the soldiers. The Senator cowered before them, helplessly pleading for his life.

"There were no deaths and no injuries beyond our capability to heal." Soren replied coldly, eyeing the red-headed mage. "No plans are truly set in battle. It can change at any moment. Remember that next time."

"I don't need you telling me what to do." Pyren replied hotly, reaching for his Tome of Fire.

"Really now?" Soren asked, seeming to have been taken completely by surprise. "From the way you've been acting, I'd say that you did. What with planning to spare over half of our troops to guard empty halls."

"They weren't so empty just a little bit ago, now were they?" Pyren growled, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

"Hmm, no I suppose not. But, like I said, there is no truly set battle plan and our troops acted well according to the situation." Soren explained calmly, a small smirk on his face.

"Now you're just mocking me." Pyren cracked open his Tome of Fire and sent a ball of flame at Soren.

The sage jumped aside right before the flaming ball scorched him, creating a large gust of wind magic and sending it back at the fire user. Pyren ducked low, almost falling completely to the ground to avoid the blades of wind. He set off a fire at Soren's feet, catching the sage unawares. Not a cry came from him as he was engulfed in flames, and Pyren stood, a triumphant smirk on his face. He closed his book and turned his back on the wall of fire, meeting the astonished stares of the mercenaries.

"Heh, looks like Mister High and Mighty wasn't so great after all." Pyren snorted. There was a sudden howling sound, and he spun around quickly, taking a gust of magic wind to the chest. The force of the blow sent him skidding across the room, a fine line of red blood seeping through his clothes. "How-?"

The flames dissipated as quickly as they had been conjured, leaving Soren standing alone, his book of Wind dissipating in a flash of green light. "Another rule of battle you might want to remember: Never turn your back on your opponent. You will get killed next time." He turned, walking briskly out of the room.

Silence dominated the chamber for a long moment afterwards with only the soft clink of armor to disturb it.

Finally, Titania cleared her throat, attracting the attention of all those around her. "Mist and Rhys, start healing the wounded. Oscar, I want you and Geoffrey to take responsibility for seeing that the Senator reaches the Capital. Alec, Mari, and Max, I'll put you in charge of finding Cyrus. Mia, take Boyd, Jason and Mennen in to the forest as well. I want you to try and find Hani and that dragon. Shinon, Gatrie, and Pyren, we're going to stay here and help get everything ready to go back. Any further orders Commander?"

"No. Titania, I'm leaving you in charge here." His gaze strayed towards the door Soren had disappeared behind. "I won't be gone long."

"Understood." Titania nodded, turning back to the Mercenary group. "Let's move mercenaries! Hani and Cyrus aren't going to find themselves!"

Ike left the goings on behind, concentrating on what he would say to Soren. Never before had he performed that kind of magic, or acted so peculiar for that matter. Not even the last time they were in Begnion.

He found Soren down a deserted hallway, sitting on the ledge of a large window sill. He paid no attention to Ike, acting like he hadn't heard the annoying clomp of his boots against the stone floor. A book lay open at his side, Ike hadn't a doubt that it was the extra Tome of Wind he always had on hand. "Soren?"

The sage eyed him warily, and Ike was surprised by just how young Soren really was. Of course he'd always known, but the tactician never really showed his age. "Come to berate me for Pyren's actions I suppose?" He asked.

Ike winced inwardly at the amount of spite loaded in that one question. "No, I've just come to ask what's wrong with you."

"Nothing is wrong with me. We've had this conversation before." Soren huffed, turning back to face the window.

"I know that's not true." Ike replied. "This happened last time too. You've been either extremely quiet or moody. Is there something here in Begnion that haunts you? Because if there is, you know that I'll always listen to what you have to say."

There was silence in the hallway, it settled like a heavy blanket, but within Soren's mind, a battle raged, his thoughts conflicted and memories of the past were abruptly brought to the fore of his mind, drowning him in sorrow. Ike, the poor idiot, had no clue what was going on.

"Your father knew." Soren said quietly, startling Ike. "He was the only one who knew. He kept my secret to the death too…"

Ike studied Soren carefully, wondering if he would continue or just leave right there. Soren didn't move from his perch on the window sill though, a thoughtful frown on his face contending to stay there for fear of letting his inner hurt show through the carefully placed mask.

Soren let the breath he was unconsciously holding loose, trying hard not to just turn and leave now. Maybe Ike would understand. After all, he had always accepted him…

"I'm not really a spirit charmer, that's not what this mark on my forehead means. I am part of a cursed group called the 'Branded'. People who are… born of a forbidden union." Soren paused, swallowing hard. "I never knew either of my parents. Early on I was given up to a woman that took care of me. She hated me and despised me, perhaps even tried to get rid of me a few times." His eyes strayed to Ike, but the young Commanders face betrayed no emotion. "When I was born I was probably ordered to be killed. Most people like me are. I used to wonder if that would have been better, but I think it wouldn't have been. Somehow, my caretaker, I won't call her my mother, got me away from that place.

"An old mage came upon us one day, and when he saw this mark on my forehead he wanted to take me in and make me his apprentice, thinking that I had somehow coaxed a spirit to dwell in my body in exchange for power. He paid my caretaker a large sum to compensate for her loss, though truthfully the woman would have given everything she owned to get rid of me. She felt herself blessed that day, and I've no doubt that she celebrated with that gold she received for handing me over.

"It wasn't long until the mage found out exactly what I was. He cursed me, cursed his luck, and beat me for something I couldn't possibly change. I… I was never taught how to speak. The mage rarely asked me questions, for there was no point in talking to the kind of monstrosity that I was. I was taught to read though. I read better than most in the village that the mage lived by, though I wasn't allowed to go there.

"The mage died one day. He was throwing a fit about me again when I failed to perform a complex spell and he suddenly died. I wasn't sorry for him, but I was horrified that I was now completely alone, unable to speak and in a world where everyone hated me for what I was. So I stayed in that house, the only protection from those outside the walls until hunger finally drove me out of the place.

"I wandered for what seemed like ages, scared and in a forest with creatures lurking just beyond the shadows surrounding me in that forest. Just when I thought I could go on no longer, I stumbled into what looked like a small town. That's where Greil… your father… found me and took me in, regardless if I was a spirit charmer or…"

Silence reigned once more in the hall way, Soren avoiding eye contact with Ike, afraid of what he might see in those blue eyes that he was sure were studying him carefully. "I suppose you'll hate me now that you know exactly what I am… A pitiful _half-breed_." Soren choked out the last word with some difficulty. Why was it so hard to admit what he truly was?

A soft sound like that of a chuckle escaped from Ike, making the sage stare at him with unmasked bewilderment. "Why would you think I would hate you for that? I can't change it, and I don't plan to. You've been a good tactician Soren, and a great friend. I could care less what you are." Soren cast him an incredulous look which brought fourth a small grin from Ike. "Come on, Pyren is probably sulking."

Soren nodded, sliding off the ledge, something akin to a grateful smile on his face.

-8080808080-

"I can't track people flying through the air." Mennen grumbled, not even bothering to transform out of his human state. "The best we can do is guess where they went.

"Oh quit your grumbling." Boyd cut in. "Titania probably just put you on this squad for brute force."

"You've got plenty of that all by yourself." Mia replied. "Sometimes I wonder if you'll chop off your own head, the way you swing that axe of yours around."

"Hey! I wouldn't cut off my own head for your information." Boyd stated a bit angrily. "It's nearly impossible."

"Nearly being the key word. You'd figure it out somehow." Mia said with a giggle.

"Shh!" They all froze at the sound, looking around to find Jason studying the ground intently.

"Why are you Shh-ing us?" Mia asked. Jason only glared at her.

"They're nearby, this blood is new." He held up his hand to show the other three the red stains on his fingertips.

Mennen transformed and padded forward, sniffing Jason's fingers. "I can track them now." He then darted off, disappearing in the thick trees and vegetation. The other three hurried after him not wanting to get lost in the woodland.

A few more minutes of sustained silence and the three found a sort of clearing in the woods. All the trees in the clearing had been uprooted and knocked over as if by some powerful wind. Nothing inhabited the clearing at the moment though.

"Looks like they moved on." Mia said, inspecting a fallen tree.

"Really now?" Boyd asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I would have never guessed."

"The dragon didn't eat her, she's still alive." Mennen cut in abruptly, his ears perked as he looked into the forest. "Come on, they went this way!" He darted off once more, forcing the mercenaries to run after him in order to not lose him.

Mennen darted around a large tree and skidded to a halt, the mercenaries nearly falling over one another at the abrupt stop. A small cry of fear came from Mai as the giant red dragon leered down at them.

"Oh! Hey guys!" Hani's voice said from somewhere behind the dragon. She appeared around it's side, smiling and looking completely unharmed. "See Veritar? I told you we were going the wrong way." The dragon only grumbled in response, turning it's head away.

"Veritar?" Boyd asked skeptically.

"Yeah, that is his name. Don't worry, he promised not to run off with me again." Hani replied with a smile.

"Well that's a relief." Mia said sarcastically. "Why doesn't he just transform back?"

"Because I can't." Veritar replied, sounding a bit annoyed. "If I could, I would have long ago. It's not fun trying to move around in the forest when you're as big as a building."

"Eh, I suppose you're right." Mia shrugged turning on her heel and heading back the way they had come. "Let's get back now that we've found you both. Hopefully they've found Cyrus by now…"

"Cyrus? Was that the hawk that came after me?" Veritar asked.

"Yes…" Mia replied in a softer tone.

"I am sorry for my actions, crazed or not. I did not wish to hurt him." Veritar replied somberly, shuffling his wings.

"We'll find him." Jason said boldly. "He'll be alright when we get to him."

-8080808080-

**VERY IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE! **

_I did a little research on Soren's past, and have therefore re-vamped Soren's little conversation. Sorry if you haven't gotten this conversation between the two yet and it totally spoiled the rest of the game for you. I found it nearly impossible to get the conversation for the two, so I figured that I'd stick my version of that conversation here. If you already got it in the game… well… too bad for you. (Oh yeah, General Paltrine(sp) is a Branded too… just incase you didn't already know. Muwahahahha)_

And, before I forget: **Veritar **belongs to **Raptorxd, Aowmli Orindu **belongs to **Ultimate Aeries**, and the mentioned **Rebecca **belongs to **akkiangel.**


	12. Chapter 12: Atra Bestia

**Chapter 12: Atra Bestia**

A cold feeling settled in the pit of Alec's stomach as he watched Mari sniff the same patch of grass for the third time. Cyrus had been here. They had found blood and feathers scattered around the tree Mari was sniffing closest to. His scent was fresh according to the cat, but she didn't know where he went. The thing he was most worried about though was that she had picked up the scent of other laguz, some of them carrying the scent of the warped beasts they had met previously. What if he had been kidnapped? Or worse yet, killed and eaten? He shuddered at the thought.

Cyrus was just more than a traveling companion, he was a good friend. Alec sighed and twirled one of Cyrus' feathers between his fingers, recalling memories of their past experiences. He regretting getting into so much trouble now and having to have Cyrus bail him out all the time.

"I've got it!" Mari said suddenly, peering into the forest with her ears perked. "Let's go! Maybe we can catch them."

Alec and Max followed her through the dense forest for what seemed forever without seeing even a trace of Cyrus' kidnappers. Alec's hope fell into the pit of his stomach as they continued in their trek through the woods. Suddenly Mari stopped in her tracks, her head lifted and ears twitching wildly.

"What is it?" Max asked, walking forward so that he was at her side.

There was a moment of silence as Mari sniffed the air, then her eyes grew wide and she turned on the spot, looking panicked. "Go! Run! NOW! This is a trap!" As soon as those words left her mouth, five of the black cats jumped down from the trees, snarling and hissing.

Alec's hand darted for his bow as he started running away from the feral cats. He knew there was no way he would be able to outdistance those cats in this forest. He had a hard time keeping up with Mari as it was. One of the black cats appeared at his side and he shot it in the leg. It crumpled in mid-stride, yowling and tearing at the embedded arrow.

Max was suddenly at his side, sword in hand. "We can't out distance them. Mari has to get back to the base and let the commander know what's happened." He said with grim determination.

Alec nodded, the full weight of his words dropping on him like a lead weight. "Mari! Run for it! We're going to hold them off!" He shouted to the golden cat.

Mari swiped at one of the black laguz before springing back, staring at them as if they were crazy. "What do you mean? I can't leave you here with these!"

"You have to!" Max shouted, startling the cat. A loud roar sounded in the woods and several more cats appeared accompanied by three tigers. "There's no way we can beat them all, and you're the only one who has a chance of escaping."

Mari stood still for a full minute before coming to her senses. "I won't let you down." She spun around and darted away into the forest, three of the black cats trailing after her.

"Ready for the final stand?" Max asked, slipping into a low attack position.

Alec nodded, notching an arrow and stared ahead at the feral cats who had gathered around them in a circle, waiting to see who would make the first move. "Let's put up a good fight."

He let his arrow fly and the whole mob of laguz pounced as one, claws reaching for the two trapped beorc.

-8080808080-

As Cyrus awoke, the first thing that assaulted him was the acrid stench of death and decay. Next was an intense pain along his back and side coupled with a horrible headache and the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. 'Where am I?' He thought to himself, looking around his dark surroundings. He was in a cage of some sort, a very dark and damp cage. A layer of something he'd rather not think about layered the floor and walls, shining a bit in the poor lighting. He could see bars in front of him and he was aware of shackles chaining his wrists to the wall. Shadowed figures crept outside his cage going about their business, whatever their business could possibly be in this darkness.

He sat up to inspect his injured wing but winced as he shifted the wrong way, scraping the injured tip against the floor of the cell. It didn't appear that he had been hurt while he was out, except a long gash in his side. It didn't bleed at all, it was just big and hurt like hell. He found a bite mark from some huge beast by his wing as well as a few scratches from his fall into the forest. He badly needed to be healed.

One of the dark figures approached his cell, its face covered by a black mask engraved with white to look like the face of a tiger. "Welcome to our humble establishment Hawk." The figure wheezed from behind the mask. "I hope you enjoy your stay, while you are still sane that is." The figured chuckled, or what Cyrus supposed was supposed to be a chuckle. It was more of a sound like boulders grating together.

"Where am I?" Cyrus asked heatedly.

"You are in the home of _Atra Bestia_. A dedicated clan to the Dark God. That is all you need to know." The figured chuckled once more and went away without a single word, leaving Cyrus to ponder in the darkness.

'Great, not only am I trapped in a dingy cage, but I can't fly, even if I could get free. What's more, there are a bunch of crazy Dark God worshipers creeping around in this place.' He settled back against the wall, careful of his injuries and let his logical mindset take over. 'They're obviously the guys who have been transforming the laguz. That means that they'll want to transform me too. Maybe if I act dead they'll throw me out somewhere. It wouldn't be too surprising with all the wounds I've got. Then again, it's to easy to find out if something is dead or not…'

Cyrus sat in the dank cage for a long while trying to think of all the ways he could escape. None came to mind and he finally just gave up, deciding that he would get more ideas when they eventually took him out of his cage. He could make a dash for the exit when they tried to transform him, wherever that exit might be…

Slowly, he started drifting off to sleep again. Dreams of open skies assaulted him, but the skies soon turned dark. Something was terribly wrong. He saw Alec before him, the hyper beorc boy he had somehow managed to become so attached to. Alec stared at him with something akin to sadness, an emotion he had only seen on the boy's face but once. He tried to ask what was wrong, but he couldn't summon his voice in the dream. Alec started fading away, as if he were falling into a clouded abyss. Cyrus reached for the boy, but was being held back by invisible ropes. Then Alec disappeared altogether, leaving Cyrus with a profound empty feeling…

-8080808080-

"Alright, all that's left is for the second group to come back and we can head out to the capital." Ike said, doing a mental head count of the mercenaries gathered before him. All the supplies for the battle had been repacked and the Begnion soldiers had already started marching towards the next target. A runner and some armed guards had been sent to the capital to report their victory as well as to deliver the Senator to be judged by the Apostle.

They had better get back soon, or else the Begnion boys will get all the fun before we even start marching." Boyd said with a huff, fingering his axe.

"They won't attack without our command." Soren replied. Since his talk with Ike, he had returned to the normal bossy Soren that they all had become used to. There was an uneasy peace between he and Pyren though, and occasionally the two would threaten each other with their magic. Fortunately someone else was usually there as well, like Ike or Titania.

"We will probably only have to wait another day anyways." Ike replied.

"If you wish, I could search for them." Veritar volunteered. He had yet to be able to transform back into his human self, but the Senator's throne room was large enough to fit him in comfortably.

"No, you won't be able to see much through the trees. We'll just wait." Ike said.

"You might want to head to the capital." A voice said from over Ike's shoulder.

Ike jumped, startled to find Aramin standing behind him, absently twirling a dagger in hand. "Why is that?" He asked, quickly regaining his composure.

"Flags from Daein. There's a troop of soldiers heading for the capital. If they wanted, I know they could inflict some damage. I'd say it was better to meet this threat now, if they are a threat at all." Aramin replied, sheathing his dagger with a fluid movement of his hand.

"Daein soldiers? What are they doing this far into Begnion territory?" Hani asked, looking around the room nervously as if one of the Daein soldiers could pop out at any moment and kill her.

"Remember, the northern part of Begnion is in agreement with Daein." Aramin pointed out.

"So what does this mean exactly?" Ike asked, resting his hand on the hilt of Ragnell.

"It means that you should leave a party here to explain what's going on and the rest of you should hightail it to the capital." Aramin replied, turning on his heel and heading out of the room. "I'll keep you updated on the weak points of the Senator's strongholds."

"Alright, Titania and Oscar, stay here and wait for Alec, Mari and Max to get back with Cyrus. You're to give them a ride back to the Capital unless told differently. Everyone else, we march now for the capital. Let's go and mount up." Ike said loud enough so that everyone around him could hear. Titania and Oscar accompanied them out the door, waving them off as the main group headed down the road towards the Begnion Capital.

-8080808080-

The Apostle looked slightly surprised when Ike entered the huge cathedral room, looking calm for the most part but a stance that suggested he was ready for battle. Standing by her was a boy around the age of sixteen, wearing a green cape, a blue headband and black armor with a sword belted at his hip. He had dark brown hair and matching brown eyes. At his side stood an even younger girl that couldn't possibly be older than Rolf. She wore a set of black armor trimmed with pink and an axe belted to her back. Her hair was a dirty blonde color and she had brown eyes that practically mirrored the boy's.

"Commander Ike? What are you doing here?" Sanaki asked.

"I was told that there was a Daein deployment heading for the capital." Ike replied, looking over the two children.

"That is correct. This is Anthony, a Lord of Daein. He has been one of the contenders to earn the place of King in Daein since Ashnard's downfall." Sanaki replied.

"But, their so-" Ike started, feeling immensely perplexed.

"I would choose your next words with care Commander Ike." Sanaki interrupted in a warning tone, eyeing him dangerously.

He had forgotten that the empress was only a year or so older than Rolf. In fact, the Anthony kid looked older than the Empress by a few years. He cleared his throat and shifted from foot to foot before continuing. "Sorry, I let my words get away from me."

"No offence has been taken Commander Ike." Anthony said, smiling slightly. "It's hard for most to believe that I am a very capable ruler."

Mentally, Ike had been blown back. How was it this kid sounded like he was so old? Then again, he supposed that Soren did the same… "Could I ask what doing here? Or is that too forward of me?" Ike inwardly shuddered, despising the way that those of nobility had been taught to speak.

"You may. I was just getting to that part in my conference with Empress Sanaki." He cast a charming smile to Sanaki before continuing. "As I was saying, if the Senators do try and separate, the northern parts of Daein will surely comply with their wishes. However, the southernmost section will not, and this could possibly pose a problem. The southern Daein's hold no wish to maintain the use of laguz slaves and certain parts of the country that have been cultivated after the war are even starting to accept laguz in common society. The more secluded northerners will not accept laguz though, no matter how hard we try to make sense of unity among the citizens. This is causing minor skirmishes within my own country, and I fear that we are facing a serious threat of Civil Separation. In time, the fighting might escalate and the hostile north may attack us to try and join the rebelling Senators."

"I see. It seems that your section of the country could possibly be the only thing keeping the Senators from rebelling now." Sanaki said thoughtfully, her attention turning towards Ike. "I heard of your victory, and I congratulate you. A replacement will be sent quickly so that word doesn't spread of the Senator Mirada's demise. I believe that the task you have been assigned might differ now that I know the full gravity of the situation."

"What will this mean for my Mercenaries?" Ike asked, careful not to let impatience color his voice. Why couldn't they just say stuff outright and not blabber on for ages with fancy words? Politics…

"You will still be fighting the Senators, but you will work your way northwards and when you reach the Daein/Begnion border you will cease your march and hold there until I send you a message of what your next actions should be." The Apostle replied quickly, seeming to sense Ike's impatience even though he was doing a very good job of concealing it. "You are dismissed. I believe that Queen Elincia would like a word before you leave though." She clapped her hands three times and a handmaid appeared from around one of the gigantic pillars in the room, bowing when she came to a halt before the Empress.

"What do you wish of me Apostle?" She asked in a very calm voice with a straight face.

"Take him to see the Queen Crimea. She desires a council with Commander Ike." Sanaki replied in the same flat tone.

The handmaid bowed before turning to Ike and gesturing towards a door on the far wall. "Come this way please Master Ike."

Ike followed the woman, casting one final glance towards the Empress and her guests. He was lead through elaborately clad hallways and rooms that rivaled the size of Crimea Castle before the maid entered a slightly smaller hallway and knocked on a large set of doors. "Mistress Queen Crimea? Commander Ike is here to make his conference with you." She bowed to him, walking away and disappearing among the myriad of hallways.

The door swung open on oiled hinges, admitting a curious Elincia. "Commander Ike?"

"I was told that you wanted to see me." Ike said casually, his attention drawn away from the vanished maid by Elincia's voice.

"So I did. It seems that the Empress is very thoughtful. Come in if you wish." She smiled, leaving the door open and turned on her heel, heading back into her room.

Ike followed hesitantly, closing the door behind himself with a small click. He was amazed at the enormity of the room. He vaguely wondered if this whole place had been constructed to fit the Goddess Ashera herself.

The high domed ceiling depicted the same style of angels floating merrily among the clouds as in the main chapel. In a corner grew a large tree with the silvery leaves, and there was an oak desk standing next to that, cluttered with papers. A four poster bed stood against a wall by sliding doors which Ike could only assume lead to a bath.

"Please don't mind the clutter. I wasn't expecting you to come so soon." Elincia said, casting a disapproving glance at the cluttered desk. "It seems that my work has managed to follow me all the way here."

Cluttered papers were really the last thing on Ike's mind at that moment. "What did you want to speak to me about?" He asked, his full attention now on the green headed woman.

"I wanted to thank you so much for volunteering for this job, and I wanted to plead forgiveness for what trouble I have caused you once more. It seems that the jobs I give you always turn out to be but the first of a flurry of assignments." She said with a saddened smile.

"Really, it's no big deal. It's all for the greater good right? Besides, I can't stand the thought of laguz slavery still going on." Ike replied easily, glad that this was one noble he didn't have to worry about his speech around.

"I am so glad that is your feelings." Elincia sighed with relief, seating herself on the edge of her bed. "How long are you to stay in the capital?"

"Only until tomorrow morning. We leave for the front once more after that." Ike said, pulling out the chair from the desk, sitting in it backwards.

"I see. How has your expedition gone so far?" Ike noticed that she was now fidgeting with her hands in her lap and had to wonder what she was thinking that was making her nervous.

"We've gained another member. A dragon by the name of Veritar. He was a laguz slave in the senators house we attacked. Other than that, the hawk, Cyrus, has gone missing. I've left a team of five back at the forest to look for him though, so hopefully he will be found tonight at the latest." Ike said, concern furrowing his brow over the loss of the hawk.

"I pray that he will be found soon." Elincia said sadly, her hands resting still in her lap. "May I ask a favor of you?"

"Anything you want."

"Could you please send Geoffrey to me? I need to speak with him." Elincia asked, nervously avoiding eye contact with Ike.

"Will it take long? I could take the message to him." Ike offered.

"No, I must speak with him directly, it's sort of personal." Elincia replied, a small blush staining her cheeks.

"Oh, of course, I'll send him right up." Ike made a small bow, plastering on a small smile before standing and heading for the door. "I'll get him now." Without waiting for a response, he walked out, shutting the door behind him. He considered his thoughts carefully, wondering why he felt so betrayed. She was just talking to an old, old friend.

'But it's _personal. _So personal in fact, she couldn't even give you a hint as to what it was.' The little nagging voice in the back of his head said, filling his mind with all sorts of possibilities that only managed to frustrate him.

He mentally shut his little nagging voice in a cage and continued to walk down the hallways, heading for the quarters the mercenary group had been assigned to last time. Still, the image of Elincia blushing, as if she were embarrassed, shown clearly in his head the whole way back.

-8080808080-

Cyrus winced and groaned as he was thrown roughly to the ground. His wings had been tied back in a painful way to prevent his escape since they had been healed. A rather short man with a large forehead and bulging eyes stared down at him, a book under his arm and a rather demented look on his face.

"Yes, hawks are always the funniest to transform. Oh how they squeal and screech! Weeeeee!" The odd man chuckled, his bulging eyes rolling around the room with pleasure.

"Master Izuka? We have some… unusual prisoners…" A cloaked cultist with the painted mask of a bird of some sort said, standing three feet behind the crazy magician. "It seems the Feral Ones brought back some beorc…"

"What? Their fetching something other than sticks? Weeee!" He looked around wildly, then stopped, a confused look on his face. "Why are they fetching sticks? Did you assign them to fetch sticks? Weeee! Hum?"

"Um, no sir-"

"Why are you telling the to fetch sticks! Wooo! WHY? Weeeeeeeeee!" The odd little man then ran out of the room in an animated style, searching for the so called "sticks".

Cyrus blinked after him, and the cloaked cultist shortly followed, probably to make sure the crazy little man didn't hurt himself.

He examined the room, toughly tugging at his bindings in hopes that they could come free. Cyrus had the idea that if he could just steal one of the cloaks, he could disguise himself as a cultist and get out. A hunchbacked cultist yes, but it would work. After all, most of the people he had seen walking around here contained the amount of sanity found in a loon house. The bird-masked cultists had been the most normal one of them so far. He tugged at his bindings some more and found that they came loose enough so that he could slip one hand out.

Now if only he could take out one of those blasted cultists.

A cry from somewhere stopped him in his planning though, and he thought that he recognized the voice. "Alec…" Someone else's voice accompanied it, one he recognized as Max. "Damn! What are they doing here? No doubt trying to rescue me…" He sighed in a defeated way, moving around so as to put his wings in a more comfortable position. He supposed he would just have to alter his plans and save the fools. Not like he hadn't done that for Alec a million times before…


	13. Chapter 13: Of Herons and Beasts

**Chapter 13: Of Herons and Beasts**

A man sat on an outcropping of rock in the Gallian forest, watching as the sun rose over the trees. His long hair and eyes were of the purest gold and his elegant white wings untarnished by dirt or grime. He was Prince Reyson, one of the last of the Heron tribe.

A single tear escaped and slipped down his cheek as the Prince began humming, a song that was both beautiful and sad. His father, the King of Herons, had finally died of an incurable illness that had plagued him for twenty long years. For the last three days he and his sister Leanne had been left alone by all the inhabitants of Gallia to mourn the loss of their father.

A soft voice interrupted his song and he turned to see Leanne singing softly to the tune Reyson had been humming in the ancient language. She took a seat next to her brother, and together they sang the Galdr of Sorrow. The forest before them became silent and still, listening to the Heron's song, the mood of the whole place around them changing to fit the style of the music almost instantly.

When the last note died, Leanne was crying, and laid her head on Reyson's shoulder seeking some comfort from her last living relative. "Brother, I only saw him for two years…" She said quietly, her speech faltering slightly in the common tongue.

"I know Leanne. But, at least he died knowing that two of his children still lived…" Reyson said soothingly, his arms around the frail girl.

She sniffled quietly, burying her face in his shoulder. "I only regret not being able to help him. Is that how you feel as well brother?" She looked up to him with teary eyes.

"Yes, I wished I could have helped him, I thought maybe there was something but…" He cut his words off, deciding it was better not to distress his sister any more. "Is the King looking for us? We left rather abruptly."

"No, he is generous and knows that we need our…" She searched for the right word in vain for a while, deciding that it was simpler to just revert to their own language. _"He knows that we need our time of mourning. He is a good King Reyson. I am grateful for that." _

"So am I." Reyson said with a small sigh. The two Heron's sat together for a long while, just watching the sun as it climbed higher into the sky.

The clearing of a throat caught their attention quickly enough and they turned to see Ranulf, the blue cat laguz, standing some distance behind them looking rather uncomfortable at having to interrupt this scene. "I'm really sorry that I have to intrude…"

"Pay it no mind good cat." Leanne said, standing and brushing off her white dress.

"Is it a message from the king?" Reyson asked, standing as well.

"Actually yes." Ranulf's ears fell flat against his head as he surveyed the forest, checking for anyone hidden in the brush. "There are laguz here, laguz from _Begnion. _They say that they are here on orders directly from the Apostle. They want you to accompany them back to Begnion."

"Why?" Both Reyson and Leanne asked together, their expressions varying from pure curiosity to downright suspicion.

"They said something about a medallion that you were carrying around." Ranulf replied easily, watching for a reaction.

Leanne's hand instantly flew up to her neckline where she kept the medallion at all times. "What do they want with it?"

"I'm not sure. They wouldn't say anything else without the two of you present." Ranulf said with a shrug.

The siblings shared a glance and a few rapid words in the ancient language before coming to a decision. "We'll meet them." Reyson said decisively.

"Good, then you can come with me." Ranulf transformed into his cat state, leaping off the cliff and into the forest below. The heron's followed him from above, not bothering to transform. They knew where he was going.

The Gallian palace was made of stone in the face of a rocky cliff. Nature had taken over the structure though, and it was more trees and wood than stone anymore. Ranulf led the two Herons into the throne room where King Cainighis stood, looking slightly concerned. Before him waited a towering tiger with shocking cherry red hair and a female hawk with golden-bronze wings and eyes. Immediately the siblings recognized the two laguz to be former slaves. Their aura was so much more different than those of free laguz. Reyson had learned that early on with the green tiger known as Muraium.

"I see you've come. Reyson, Leanne, I'm terribly sorry that your mourning had to be cut so short…" King Cainighis said, offering them an apologetic thought. He was quite aware that Herons could read minds and occasionally used their talent to convey his feelings on political issues to them if they attended meetings.

"Pay it no mind good king. We are… grateful that you have shown us such kindness." Leanne said kindly, struggling somewhat with her words.

"What is it that you wish to speak to us about?" Reyson asked, eying the two laguz standing between him and the King.

"It seems that Ike has returned to Begnion. The Apostle wishes you to come to the capital and bring the medallion so that the Galdr of Sealing can be performed and put our minds at rest." The king replied. "Gallus and Florin have been sent here to make sure that your trip to Begnion is safe. If you need time to prepare, it will be given to you."

"No, let us go. I wish to rid the earth of this danger that hangs from my neck." Leanne said forcefully, gesturing to the hidden medallion and surprising the King and even Reyson.

"Should we leave immediately?" The tiger asked.

Reyson cast a glance to his sister, seeing only determination in her eyes. "Yes, we will leave immediately. There is nothing here that we would need to take with us."

"Good. Then let us transform. Traveling is easier with four paws." The tiger replied, he and the hawk transforming. Reyson and Leanne followed suit, becoming as beautiful as they were indistinguishable. The only difference was that Reyson was a slightly larger bird with gold tinted feathers while Leanne was a completely white bird.

The tiger leap from the nearest window, the three birds following suit.

"To think, all this could be over soon." Giffca, the king's 'shadow', appeared by his side, watching out the window the four had just disappeared out of.

Cainighis nodded, staring blankly at the window as well. "Let us hope that all goes as planned."

-80808080808-

Alec hit the floor with a dull 'thump' as the cultist threw him into a dirty cage. He and Max were both scratched and bruised badly, but they weren't dead and Ashera only knew what these freaky cultists would do to them. Now that the excitement of being captured and held captive, he was starting to get bored. And when Alec got bored…

"Hey, what kind of food do you think we'll get? I'm starting to get hungry." Alec asked, staring at the slimy wall with some degree of amusement on his face. "Do you think that we'll have to eat laguz food? I wonder what kind of food cat laguz eat? Do you think the _cultists _eat laguz food too? Maybe that's why they're all nuts. Do you think that we'll go nuts because we eat cat food?"

Max sighed, letting the boy ramble on and on about pointless things. They needed an escape plan, and quick. So far their reception had been anything but warm and friendly.

A short man with bulging eyes and a huge forehead approached their cage, giggling in a purely insane way. A cultists with the mask of a hawk accompanying him.

"Humans huh? I thought you said they brought back sticks!" The man said, glaring at the masked cultist.

"No Master Izuka. You said that they brought back sticks." The cultist replied.

"Did I now? Weeee! I wonder what I was thinking? Oh well! Weeee!" Izuka peered into the cage, a thoughtful look on his face. "I suppose that we'll just have to throw them in with the Feral Ones. It is almost lunch time after all." As if on cue a loud yowling echoed down the hallway, disturbing Izuka. "Gah! It looks like the beasties need their medicine! Take care of them. Weeeee!" He then ran off towards the sound of the yowling.

All three watched him go with varying degrees of curiosity.

"He's an interesting fellow." Max commented with a snort.

The cultist glared at him from behind the mask. "You there!" He pointed to a hunched cloaked figure, who had been shuffling around behind him. "Take these prisoners to be fed to the Feral Ones." The second cloaked figure mumbled something indistinguishable, nodding it's head.

The first cultist unlocked the cell door, letting Max and Alec walk out. "Try and escape. Go ahead. You won't find a way out." With that warning, the first cloaked figure walked away.

"Gee, I thought he'd never leave." The second cultist said with a relieved sigh. He pulled up his hood back from his face, revealing a grinning Cyrus. "These whack jobs are all kooky, it wasn't hard to knock one out."

"Cyr-!" Alec tried to say his full name and jump on the laguz in a tackling hug, but Cyrus covered his mouth and held him still.

"Not now. I'm supposed to be taking you to be eaten remember? Just walk, maybe we'll find an exit. If we don't, we'll knock out a couple of cultists and wander around. Everyone in here is crazy anyways, so it won't matter if I told them that I got lost." Cyrus said quickly in a low whisper before clearing is throat. "Now get moving!" He said gruffly, shoving Alec forward just in case any other cultists were around watching.

The three walked in silence down the hallway, passing up hundreds of cultists as they walked deeper into the lair of Astra Bestia. They rounded a corner and came to a long hallway, abandoned by all but two cultist talking rapidly to each other.

"Stay here, I'll be right back." Cyrus hissed, shuffling forward and hunched over. Max and Alec backed around the corner so as not to be seen by the two cultists. They heard the mumbling of voices as Cyrus spoke to the two, then the opening of a creaky door. Alec peered around the corner in time to see the three file into a room.

"What' he doing?" Max asked, looking around the corner as well. A muffled scream came from within the room as well as a dull 'thump' against the wall. "Well, I guess that answers that question.

Cyrus came out of the room shortly after that, looking up and down the hallway with a bundle of clothes in his arms. "Here, take these. I knocked out the cultists, so they shouldn't cause us any trouble for awhile. Hurry, before someone comes along."

Problems arose as soon as the two put on the garb. One, neither of them knew exactly how to put the masks on, so they would have to rely on their cloaks to cover their faces. Max's cloak was much too short for him, and his shoes easily showed whenever he walked. He had to hunch over to keep his ankles from showing. Alec's cloak was much too big for him though and he tripped over the fabric with every third step.

"Eh, not good, but it's the best that we can do." Cyrus said finally, eyeing the two. "Hopefully the people we meet will be insane enough not to notice."

"Let's just get out of here." Max replied, hunching over.

"Ah, it seems that our security system does not work as well as I thought it did." A voice said from out of nowhere.

The three looked around for the source of the voice, but found no one standing in the hallway but themselves.

"I do congratulate you on how far you have gotten though. I must say, it's the best escape attempt I've seen so far. But still, it's only an attempt. Pity."

The next thing they knew was infinitely cold darkness.

-80808080808-

Ike heaved a sigh as he exited the main cathedral room, heading towards his personal room within the giant building. Maybe he could spar with Boyd or something. That would certainly take his mind off his confused thoughts of Elincia. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he was not aware of the towering man standing in the middle of the hallway until he ran straight into his armored back.

"Gah, sorry about that, I wasn't watching where I was going." Ike said quickly, catching himself before he fell over.

The man grunted in response, his green eyes searching Ike for a hint of any challenge from the much smaller man. His hair was cut short in a military buzz style and his bulky black Daein armor bore many scratches and gashes from times of hard battle. Overall, he was a very intimidating man and Ike seriously didn't want to offend him in any way. "What's your name?" He asked in a gruff voice, crossing his muscled arms over his broad chest.

"Ike, Commander Ike, of the Greil Mercenaries." Ike replied, trying not to sound intimidated. It worked well enough, he supposed.

"The same Ike that was General two years ago?" The huge man asked suspiciously, quirking an eyebrow and his features almost instantly became more intimidating.

"That was me, but I'd rather not be addressed as-"

"It was you!" The man said menacingly, poking Ike hard in the chest and nearly knocking him over. "It was you and your little band of renegades that destroyed my men." He snarled, hand reaching for the axe he kept on his back. "You deserve to be killed for what you put me through."

Ike took out Ragnell in a flash, the tip of the blade pointing directly at the man's unprotected throat. "I have no ill will for the people of Daein, only for the king and what he did to Crimea and the laguz." He paused for a minute, remembering the battle of Talrega and all the lives that had been destroyed because of the General Shiharam's orders to not let the Crimean Army through. "I respect your desire for revenge, and if that is how you truly feel, I will battle you. But not in here. You seem to be a man of great skill, as am I. I would not have our abilities hindered because of lack of space."

The man sneered at him, his hand falling to his side as he considered Ike's prospect before a small grin crept on his face. "You have a deal _General _Ike." He chuckled, a sort of grating sound before pushing past him, leading him through the hallways. As they passed by, Mist poked her head out of her room, casting a curious look toward Ike.

He gave her an apologetic glance, and the girl hid back inside her room, apparently knowing exactly what was happening.

By the time that the large man had lead him out into a large open ceiling court room, Mist, Mari, Rhys, Mia, Jason, Titania and Boyd had all come out of their rooms, eager to watch the fight to come. It took a minute for Ike to realize that where balconies should have been, there were large rooms with the wall facing the courtyard completely open. Inside of those rooms were curious wyvern, some accompanied by equally curious wyvern riders. Whispers echoed around the courtyard and some of the men gathered around the walls, watching the large man. Some with eager anticipation, some with pity, and others started making a betting pool.

Finally the man turned, gesturing vaguely to the courtyard with a menacing grin on his face. "Is this a large enough area for you, _General _Ike?" The whispers in creased in intensity and volume. Ike could even make out some of the words.

"He finally found him?"

"I wonder if he'll win?"

"I never thought Taiust would actually go through with it…"

Taiust? Was that the soldier's name?

Without waiting for a response from Ike, the large man whistled a shrill note into the air. For a minute there was silence, then a sound like thunder echoed around the courtyard. Ike looked around, trying to figure out where that sound was coming from, then realized with a sense of awe that it was a wyvern. The massive beast descended into the arena, filling a good portion of it with it's massive bulk.

It was forest green in color with a massive chest bulging with muscles. It's wings made the air groan under their weight and it's legs were chorded and equally muscled. Ike had not the slightest doubt that the monstrosity of a beast could easily crush a boulder.

The grating chuckle escaped from Taiust once more as he skillfully climbed into the seat of his wyvern. "I see you are impressed by Thane here. Remarkable wyvern isn't he? All of the wyvern under my command were like this, until your invasion destroyed them all." He withdrew an axe from a holder on the side of the wyvern's saddle. It had an elongated shaft, specially made for wyvern riders so that they could hit their targets from the back of their mounts. "Come on _General _Ike. I want to see your so-called skills!"

With speed defying it's great bulk the wyvern leapt forward at the silent command of it's rider, snapping at Ike trying to catch any part of him he could while the elongated axe made for his head.

Ike ducked and rolled, coming back up to the left of the beast and releasing an arching blade of glowing wind from Ragnell. The wyvern darted forward and it's rider ducked, the glowing wind doing nothing but creating a hole in the nearest wall. Ike cursed as the wyvern spun at him abruptly, nearly knocking him over with it's tail. The axe soon followed and Ike lost a lock of blue hair to the whistling blade.

He dodged the snapping jaws of the green wyvern as it lunged at him once more. An idea popped into his head and he rolled to the ground underneath the beast and grabbed hold of the straps crossing over it's underbelly. The beast roared and spun around, looking for him, momentarily confused. It gave Ike enough time to gain a foot hold among the myriad of straps and launched a blade of wind at the back of an unsuspecting Taiust. It hit the rider square in the back, nearly knocking him from his seat and adding another long gash to his already scarred armor.

By then, the wyvern had become irritated trying to fight the little man on the ground. It's wings strained for a second to pull itself into the air, then suddenly it was off, circling around and watching Ike as he waited from the middle of the arena.

With a fearsome roar from both wyvern and rider, the monstrosity dived for the earth, it's claws and teeth stretching out to catch him in their mighty grasp, the shining blade of an axe held high to cut what escaped.

Ike dodged to the side at the last minute, the blade of the axe scraping across his chest as he embedded his blade into the passing side of the wyvern, cutting Taiust's leg in the process.

The great beast shrieked, falling to it's wounded side, the rider jumping from the saddle and falling as well, his wounded leg unable to support him. Ike fell to his knees, clutching at the deep wound across his chest, Ragnell's point down on the ground.

Taiust stood, using his axe as a support while the wyvern struggled to move. The rider's eyes were absolutely livid with hate. He opened his mouth to yell something at Ike, but was cut off by the very angry voice of a young boy.

"_What in the seven hells are you doing?" _Anthony, the Lord from Daein, yelled, a hand on the hilt of his sword as he walked swiftly to the middle of the battle field, eyeing the screeching wyvern, the wounded Taiust, and lastly Ike, who had stood at that point. "_What have you done?"_ He asked, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper.

"Sir, I-" Taiust started, seeming much less intimidating against the young Lord.

"General Taiust, I brought you here because you were one of my most trusted men. I brought you to set an example for the other men. And this is what happens?" He gestured towards his wyvern, struggling with some success to stand. "I don't know about your policies Commander Ike, but I expected better behavior from you."

Taiust stood quite still, almost as if he were at attention, his gaze never traveling from Anthony. "What would you have me do as punishment Sir?"

Anthony shook his head, apparently his former rage dulled. "I don't know what to do with you Taiust…" His gaze strayed to Ike momentarily. "Since you seem to know Commander Ike, as punishment, I'll place you under his command until further notice unless the Commander disagrees. You will do nothing, _nothing, _like this again, or be punished as Commander Ike sees fit. Is this alright with you Commander?"

Ike blinked a few times, surprised. "Yeah, it's fine with me."

"Good. Taiust, I formerly remove your title as General and you will strip my emblem from your armor immediately. Am I clear?" It was more of a statement and less of a question.

"Sir yes Sir!" Taiust replied, snapping off a salute.

"Now go get your wyvern healed." Anthony said dismissively, walking back into the castle, his sister waiting for him at the door.

Mist rushed forward then, Rhys following after her. Between the two healers they managed to fix both Ike and Taiust as well as reducing Thane's life threatening wound to a huge scar.


	14. Chapter 14: Rivalry

**Chapter 14: Rivalry **

Titania watched with mild amusement as Oscar began pacing again. Back and fourth and back and fourth and back and fourth and back and fourth. Then, it had begun to get annoying. "Oscar, will you quit that? Wearing a hole in the floor won't make them come any faster."

"It's something to do." He replied pleasantly, continuing in his pacing.

"It's annoying. Besides, you're going to wear out the soles of your boots." Titania pointed out reasonably.

Oscar just sighed and sat against the base of a statue squinting up at the sky. It hadn't been that long since the rest of the company departed for the capital. All the same, it was taking a really long time to find Cyrus. "I'm just worried is all. They found Hani and Veritar first, yet Cyrus was supposed to have fallen closer to us. It seems odd that they haven't found him yet."

"Who knows? Maybe he doubled back on himself or something and Mari just can't figure how to track him right." Titania said easily. In truth she was worried too, but it was better to not let Oscar know that, not when there was the threat of him pacing again. "Do you think that they've arrived at the capital yet?" Titania asked after a pause.

"No, they probably won't get there until late tomorrow." Oscar said. "They've only been gone a few hours."

"Oh well, I'll be the Apostle will change all of our orders around, seeing as there are Daeins in the country now. I wonder if Ike will tell us about that when he sends us his orders." Titania mused, staring absently at the ceiling as she fingered the handle of her axe. A roar from outside instantly snapped her out of her thoughts, and both paladins ran outside to see what the commotion was about.

Streaking out of the forest was the golden cat known as Mari, bleeding from several gashes on her sides. Literally on her tail were four of the black laguz, snarling and swiping at her heels.

Titania and Oscar sprang into to action then, Titania with her throwing axe and Oscar with a lance. Mari, seeing that they were armed, ran towards them, leaping skillfully over their heads and towards the safety of the castle. The four black laguz stopped in their tracks, staring at the two paladins curiously. One of them jumped forward, aiming to take of Oscar's head.

The beast was impaled on the sharp end of a lance and it's momentum carried it to the side of Oscar, where it died on impact with the ground. The other three sprang into action, hissing and growling at the two, making a valiant effort at trying to scratch the paladins to pieces. The battle was over in minutes, the three black cats lying dead on the ground.

Mari transformed, still skittish and breathless from her run though the forest. "We were attacked." She managed to say between breaths. Oscar handed her a bottle of healing liquid, which she gladly took. The effect was immediate, and she seemed sorely relieved when the contents took their full effect. "Thanks."

"What happened exactly?" Titania asked, a frown furrowing her brow.

"I found Cyrus' trail, and we got ambushed by a whole bunch of those laguz. Max and Alec… they…" She paused, unable to continue because of the lump forming in her throat as tears began to fill her eyes.

Titania hugged the girl, an act which surprised both the laguz and Oscar. "There's nothing we can do." She said soothingly. "We'll go to the capital and report this loss."

"What about the orders that we're supposed to get?" Oscar asked quietly.

"We can't wait for them. Ike needs to know what happened. Whoever it is that's making these black laguz is going to pay for what they've done," Titania replied, the barest hint of anger coloring her voice, "to the laguz and to our company."

Oscar nodded mutely. "Then let's go. Would you like to ride or walk Mari?"

"I'll ride." She said, sounding a bit shaken.

The two paladins escorted her outside to where their horses were picketed. It would take a while to get back to the capital, but it was better than sitting around doing nothing.

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Never before had Ike known that his sister, dear sweet little Mist, could be so scary. She had talked his ears off after his skirmish with Taiust. Something about needing to go shopping now.

In all the excitement, he had forgotten to give Geoffrey the message that Elincia had wanted to see him. So now not only did he feel worn out, but rather silly at forgetting something so obviously important.

He knocked on the paladin's door and waited for an answer. When none came, he pushed the door open, peeking around the edge. "Geoffrey?" There was no one in the room at all. He almost turned and left to go search for him, but something caught his eye. He walked over to the desk on the far side of the room and saw a locket, a very feminine looking locket. At first he assumed it to be Lucia's. It would have been very believable if the sword master had given it to her younger brother as a keepsake, but he doubted that when he saw an engraving of _ERC_ on the side in flowing script.

The only person he knew whose initials were ERC…

Turning abruptly and heading out of the room, Ike swore out loud as he mentally bound himself to the promise that never again would he go into someone's room when they weren't in there.

"What in the world is wrong with me?" He asked in a defeated way, aiming the question at no one in particular.

"Sounds like you're having problems." A voice said from the shadows to his left.

Ike spun around, looking for the source of the voice before finding Aramin, leaning casually against the wall. "It's not nice to sneak up on people like that."

"I'm an assassin, it's what I do." Aramin replied with a shrug.

"I thought you were out getting information." Ike stated, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword in a relaxed manner.

"I was. I have it. Now I'm back." Aramin replied with a grin. "Want to know what it was?"

"Sure. Go ahead and tell me what you know." Ike replied.

"Atra Bestia." He said simply, the grin growing into a smirk.

"Huh?"

"It's the name of the Cult that's making the Black Laguz. They're a fairly recent group and are directly linked to the Senator's rebellion. Plots within plots eh?" Aramin paused, fishing the pendant out of his pocket. "It seems that the cult has it's interests placed in the Herons, and your sister. That song you told me about, you had better write it down on paper and lock it up or have your whole mercenary group memorize it. I'd say that the Apostle is in fairly safe hands, but you can't protect your sister forever. Either keep her with the Apostle, or risk her getting assassinated. That's your only choice."

Ike sighed, now appearing infinitely weary. "I suppose I'll have to tell her all of this. She's not going to be happy, being left out…"

"But she'll be safe." Aramin pointed out reasonably. "Aside from that, I've been told that the Herons are on their way here. They should arrive within the week. You might want to stick around the capital until then." He winked and headed off down the hall, disappearing around a corner.

Ike shook his head, resuming the task of trying to find Geoffrey. Aramin needed a bell or something. He didn't liked to be scared half to death every time the assassin made an appearance.

Another five minutes of a fruitless search led him outside to find the blue headed paladin practicing his lance skills against Boyd. It wasn't clear who the winner was so far, but Boyd had the upper hand and was making full use of it.

He swung his axe at Geoffrey, scoring a minor hit that was followed by about the most vicious cackle Ike had ever heard come out of the green-headed axe wielder. "How about that twinkle toes? Looks like you can't dodge forever!"

Geoffrey whacked Boyd over the head with the blunt end of his lance and jumped away in time to not get hit again by Boyd's flailing axe. "No, but neither am I going to tire from thrashing about with that unwieldy weapon of yours." Boyd growled in response, knocking aside Geoffrey's lance with the flat of his axe.

Ike spotted his sister and Mennen sitting on the sidelines, watching with a dull fascination. He joined them, watching the battle. "How's it going so far?"

"Boyd swings, Geoffrey whacks him on the head, Boyd swings again and Geoffrey gets out of the way. It's boring." Mist replied as the two combatants did exactly what she said.

"I think watching the grass grow is more exciting." Mennen added, twirling a blade of grass between his fingers.

"Do you think it will ever end?" Mist asked in a bored tone, glancing up at Ike. "Maybe you could challenge Geoffrey. I'd bet you'd win, but it would be a better challenge than Boyd."

"I heard that!" Boyd yelled at her, narrowly dodging a swing from Geoffrey's lance.

"Eyes on the battle Boyd!" Ike yelled back, watching with a small grin on his face as Boyd got whacked again.

"Will you just surrender?" Geoffrey asked, sounding exasperated.

"Never give up! Never surrender!" Boyd said with a great roar and swinging his axe. There was a resounding crack and Geoffrey's lance lay in two pieces on the ground. "HA!"

"Congratulations Master Boyd, you finally managed to disarm me." Geoffrey said, staring at the broken halves of his lance.

Mennen snickered on the sidelines. "And how many times have you sent Bloody Faithful spinning across the field since you started practicing?"

"That's none of your business." Boyd snorted, embedding his axe in the ground.

"All joking aside-" Ike said loudly, interrupting an irritated Mennen. "Geoffrey, Queen Elincia would like to speak to you."

Geoffrey looked surprised. "Did her Highness say why?"

"Nope. She wouldn't say." Ike replied easily. Really, he was seething just below the surface, but no one else needed to know that.

"Then Master Boyd, I'm sorry that we can not continue our match." Geoffrey made a small bow to Boyd before heading into the depths of the castle.

"Did you hear that? '_Master _Boyd'. I think I could get used to that." Boyd said with a grin.

"Don't let your pride get the better of you." Ike replied, standing. "I need to get something." He left without answering the questioning stare of Mist, heading out the same door Geoffrey had just gone through.

Curiosity and that little nagging feeling he'd acquired since his talk with Elincia had combined forces to make him follow after the blue headed paladin. He'd probably regret it later, but at the moment, that little nagging voice was goading him down the hallway, that and the memory of Elincia's locket in Geoffrey's room. He stopped a few times, the reasonable part of his brain arguing that it had been something personal Elincia wanted to talk to Geoffrey about. Then again, it was the duty of the Commander to know everything about his men in case something would affect their ability to fight on the battlefield.

Chalking his actions up to duty, he silenced the reasonable part of his mind and continued through the maze of hallways, making sure that he was slow enough so as not to catch up to Geoffrey.

In what seemed record time he stood in the hallway, looking at Elincia's door. It was left slightly open, and he could hear their conversation drifting through the crack. The reasonable part of his mind made one final stand, telling him that he was doing something very stupid and very childish. He guessed that his reasonable mind took after Soren. Ignoring the little voice in his head telling him to turn and walk away, he stood by the doorframe, listening in on the meeting.

"Is something wrong? You look worn." That was Geoffrey's voice.

"No, nothing at all." Elincia responded. Ike could hear the lie in her voice.

"My Queen, you know that I would do anything for you if I could. Just ask of it, and it is yours."

'Damn chivalry of the Knights code…' Ike thought irritably.

"I think you've been working too hard." Geoffrey said after a long pause, his voice soft. "I think that when we return to Crimea, you should take a break. You deserve it after all."

"Really Geoffrey, I-"

"Ike!" Mist yelled, waving at him from down the hall. "What are you doing all the way over here?"

"Oh, hey Mist." Ike said, trying his hardest not to sound mad at her. Both Elincia and Geoffrey came out of the room, eying him curiously. He winced inwardly, knowing that he had better make up a reason and fast.

"Yes Commander, what _are _you doing here?" Geoffrey asked, suspicion coloring his voice.

Ike almost replied with 'It's none of your business with what I do', but thought better of it. He cleared his throat delicately, glancing at Mist as she walked over. "I just thought I'd take a walk around the castle. I've had a bit of the headache, and I didn't want to worry Mist. I know healing that wyvern took a bit of energy out of you…" He mentally congratulated himself on the quick save.

"Oh you shouldn't have worried about me." Mist said cheerfully. "Headaches are nothing to cure. You need to come with me though. Boyd apparently wants to spar with you."

"Alright." Ike agreed readily, welcoming any excuse to get away from the currently frowning Geoffrey. It seemed that he didn't believe a word of Ike's story.

Mist and Ike walked back towards the courtyard in companionable silence for awhile, until Ike guessed that they were half way there.

Mist spun around to face him, the scariest glare a fourteen year old girl could muster on her face. "You were spying on them." There was no question in her statement.

"What are you talking about?" Ike asked, willing away the blush that threatened to stain his cheeks.

Apparently his show of innocence didn't work. "Why would you do something like that?" She asked, pinning him with a formidable glare.

"I'm telling you Mist, I did no such thing." Ike replied, trying hard to sound exasperated. Too bad for him that he had no talent as an actor.

Mist looked quite angry, then suddenly her face went blank and her hand fluttered up to cover her mouth, a slow grin spreading across her face. "Oh, don't tell me-"

"Tell you what?" Ike really was irritated this time.

Mist giggled, a sound Ike was sure meant his ultimate and untimely demise. "Don't worry! I won't tell!" With that, Mist ran off, disappearing before Ike could call after the flightily girl.

"Won't tell what?" He asked the air. With a sigh, he headed back out to the court yard to find Boyd waiting for him.

"What took you so long?" Boyd grumbled, his axe embedded in the ground.

"Sorry, Mist had a hard time finding me." Ike replied, trying hard to push his thoughts from his head.

"Heh, I could of guessed that myself. Whatever. Pick up your sword and show me what you've got Commander." Boyd said with a smirk, hefting his axe.

Ike sighed, drawing Ragnell. "Are you sure we shouldn't call Rhys or something? You might get hurt."

Boyd chuckled. "Save your worries for yourself. I'm not getting hurt this time around."

"If you say so." Ike replied with a grin.

-80808080808-

Reyson and Leanne transformed into their human state, landing on the ground with a fluid grace. The hawk landed next to them, transforming as well.

"We'll continue on foot for a while." The tiger said, still in his cat form. "Just follow me. I know that your night vision isn't good, but I'll try and stay close so that you won't loose me."

The three bird laguz followed the tiger quietly. It was a curse to not be able to see at night, but they supposed that following the tiger on the ground was better than stopping at twilight. Their trek through the dense forest lasted until the birds could barely see more than three feet before them and the first stars appeared in the sky.

"We'll camp here for the night." Gallus said with an air of finality. No one complained, and it was a quiet night that they spent.

Leanne snuggled next to her brother, watching the dark sky. "Brother, do you think that father is watching us?" She asked, letting her head fall on his shoulder.

"Yes, I know he is." Reyson said softly, putting an arm around her shoulder.

They lapsed into a companionable silence and Leanne took out the medallion, examining it. _"It is times like these when I have a hard time believing that such a little thing can ruin so much in the wrong hands. It is a sad thing to think of, is it not?" _She said softly in their own language, her voice rising and falling like a song as she spoke.

"_I think… It is times like these, when my thoughts are the most clear, when I can truly realize the powers of such a small object." _Reyson replied, abandoning the common tongue. _"I shall be glad when we are able to finally rid ourselves of such a burden." _

"_I suppose…" _Leanne replies softly. She was about to say something else when a yowl cut her off. Both Herons stood immediately, searching blindly in the darkness for the source of the noise.

A cat dropped down from the trees before them, hissing and swiping at them. Gallus appeared out of the darkness, knocking the cat aside. "Flee!" He yelled, fending off the sharp claws of the cat before him. "You must go now! You must get to the capital!" When the two showed no signs of moving from their spots, he roared at them, startling them out of their trace. "GO!"

Reyson was the first to react, grabbing hold of Leanne's wrist and tugging on it urging her to become airborne. Another beast appeared from the darkness, tackling the two to the ground. There was a screech above them, and the tiger was knocked away.

Leanne leapt into the air, gaining altitude with a ferocious beast snapping at her ankles, Reyson at her side, doing what he could to escape. A flash of black against the night sky collided with Reyson. "_Brother!" _Leanne screamed, her command of the common language completely gone.

"RUN LEANNE!" Reyson yelled at her from the ground where a humongous tiger had him pinned. "GO!"

Leanne froze in place, torn by indecision. _"GO NOW LEANNE!" _Reyson yelled again in the ancient language. A cry escaped her as she transformed, tearing off into the night sky blindly, tears streaking across her face.

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**WARNING: The next chapter includes a minor torture scene. If you are EXREMELY squeamish or if you are EXTREMELY sensitive and tend to cry, you might want to consider having a buddy over to hold your hand when you read the next chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15: The Feral Beast

**Chapter 15: The Feral Beast**

Mist paced the halls with measured steps, trying very hard not to reflect on her ultimate boredom. They had been sitting around for about a week, waiting for Reyson and Leanne to come. According to Aramin, they should be here tomorrow. Unfortunately, a day was all it took for Mist to completely explore the whole of the Begnion palace and become quite bored with it's wonders.

She stood out in one of the court yards, watching the clouds pass overhead with a dull fascination.

Being bored wasn't good for her, it gave her time to think of the less pleasant things in life. Titania, Oscar, and Mari had returned bearing bad news. Max and Alec had been captured by the black laguz, and were more than likely dead. The hadn't found Cyrus either, so he was probably dead too. She sat down, tears threatening to escape her eyes as she sniffled, thinking of the three now-dead-companions. During the war, she had seen plenty of people die, some she knew she could have saved, others she knew were hopeless cases.

Every one of their deaths had made her sad. Some nights, after a particularly bad battle, she would cry herself to sleep, mourning all the souls who were lost to the world. She mourned for the dead and dying soldiers, she mourned for the families that they would not return to, she mourned for the wives and children that would never see their men again in this life." The final battle had been a bittersweet joy. More men had died during the final battle than any of the others. King Ashnard's horrible blade had killed by the hundreds. Once it had even turned on her. She had only escaped near death when the hawk king, Tibarn, interfered, taking the blow for her.

She had nearly lost her brother that day, but he pulled through, and for an instant, she could have sworn she had seen her father. She had nearly lost everything during that final battle, yet here she was, staring at the sky, alive and well.

Mist sighed, standing and brushing off her skirts. She cast one final look at the sky before heading in. A screech from high above caught her attention, and she looked once more, seeing two black dots growing bigger and another pure white dot being chased by the two. She stared at them for a while, until the figures became clearer. It was a heron, being chased by two Crows.

"Ike! Oscar! Rolf!" Mist screamed, mentally cursing herself for not carrying around her sword at all times.

Rolf was at her side with surprising speed, a bow in hand. "What is it Mist?" He asked, searching her face.

"Look up there!" She said, pointing. Oscar arrived on the scene then, looking concerned. "It's Reyson! He's being chased!"

Rolf knocked an arrow, concern in his eyes. "They're much too far away for me to hit. They need to get closer."

Mist waited with bated breath as the three birds came steadily closer. Finally, they came within reach and Rolf let fly an arrow, striking down one of the crows. The other one screeched and wheeled around before an arrow could find it out.

The heron landed with a fluid grace before the image was completely ruined by it falling to the ground, unconscious.

Mist ran to it's side, taking out her healing staff in a flourish and passing it over the bird. It's light glowed warmly, healing the small scrapes that covered it's body. "Go get someone, we'll take him inside."

"Where's Leanne though? Wasn't she supposed to come too?" Rolf asked, putting away his bow.

"I don't know, we'll find out when Reyson wakes up." Mist replied, putting away her healing staff.

The heron stirred, it's eyes opening and staring blearily up at Mist. A white light blanketed it for a second, before changing into the shape of Leanne.

"Leanne?" All three in the vicinity said, emotions ranging from mild shock to full blown concern.

"You are Mist, Ike's sister, correct?" Leanne asked tiredly, her voice weak.

"I am." Mist replied, concern furrowing her brow. "What happened, and where's Reyson?"

Tears sprang to Leanne's eyes at the question. "He-he is…" She said something quickly in the ancient language before her speech was reduced to indistinguishable sobs.

Mist sat on her knees, hugging Leanne tightly around the shoulders and trying to comfort her. She turned her gaze towards Rolf and Oscar, who were standing by watching. "Go get Ike. He'll want to know about this."

The brothers nodded, heading off into the castle, looking for their blue headed commander.

"Mist…" Leanne sniffled, regaining control of herself once more. "The medallion… they took it."

Mist gasped, knowing the full extent of those words. "We _have _to get it back! What happened?"

"We had stopped for the night, we had to settle in, because neither Reyson nor myself could see any longer after twilight. We were attacked by vicious black laguz…" Tears threatened to spill over once more as the events of the night before replayed before her eyes. It was like loosing her brother again… "I'm not sure when I lost it. Maybe when that tiger jumped from the tree. But they have it, and they took Reyson." She finally broke down again, her tears rolling down her face.

"It's okay Leanne. We will find him. I know who it is that's taken them." Mist said soothingly, her thoughts trailing to the information Aramin had told Ike a while back.

Leanne only nodded, letting Mist calm her frayed nerves. By the time Oscar and Rolf had returned with Ike, she had fainted from exhaustion.

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A shadowed figure dropped from a hole in the ceiling, landing on the floor without a sound. He looked around and saw no one. Walking with practiced ease, he soundlessly escaped the room, looking about for any guards or people.

When met with no opposition, he crept along the hall, eyes searching for any sign of movement.

Aramin stopped at a door that had been left wide open, taking a quick look inside before walking in and closing the door, eyeing the papers on the wide oak desk. He sorted through them as quickly as possible and found a written report from an escaped soldier of the battle the Greil Mercenaries had recently fought against Senator Mirada. He took the report, saving it to find out the name and whereabouts of the poor fool who wrote it and make sure that he could never speak of what he saw again. He'd probably have to assassinate the Senator as well, who knows what he could have found out?

He heard voices outside of the door, and sought out a place to hide as the door handle turned. The broad top of a book shelf offered a hiding place, and he flipped up to the top with a feline grace, landing soundlessly and proceeded to melt into the shadows, watching as two men entered the room.

A broad shouldered man clad from head to toe in armor came in first. A broad sword hung from his hip, and he a carried an important looking helmet under his arm. The second was a man as wide as he was tall, smoking some horrible smelling substance in a long pipe and grunting like a bloated pig as he walked. The sight alone wanted to make Aramin jump out of his hiding place right then and cut the fat off of the arrogant bastard. He restrained himself though, keeping his daggers in their sheaths.

"Senator, the report was just filed today. It seems that the Empress is striking against us. She's made the first move, and we can leave without any opposition." The broad shouldered man said, flipping through the papers on the desk, undoubtedly looking for the paper Aramin had in his belt.

The Senator grunted, a grin creasing the layers of his fat face. "Have any of the others heard this news?"

"No Sir, the report has gotten to us first." The soldier replied, a frown furrowing his brow.

"Make copies then! I want all of my fellows to know of this!" The Senator chuckled, making his whole body shiver. Aramin felt the strong call to put his daggers to work again.

"Yes Sir, as soon as I can find it." The soldier replied absent mindedly.

"You lost it?" The Senator asked, sounding positively alarmed.

"No Sir. It's probably not arrived yet. I'll make sure to check the dungeons. Perhaps they're still trying to get information from the man." The soldier said, offering the Senator his most convincing voice.

He huffed, making his fat body tremble from the exertion of standing for so long. "Fine. But I want that report!" The Senator then turned and waddled out of the room. Personally, Aramin was surprised he could fit through the door.

The soldier stayed back though, casting a suspicious glance around the room. For a heart stopping second, Aramin thought that the soldier knew he was in the room. To his relief, the soldier's eyes passed blindly over the spot where Aramin hid.

Aramin heaved a relieved sigh when the soldier left, closing the door behind him. Jumping to the floor with ease, he brushed off the dust that clung to his cloths and waited a few minutes to put some distance between the Senator and himself.

So they had the soldier in the basement did they?

Making his way through the door and out into the hall once more, Aramin began to plot out how he would get rid of the three, and whatever minions that knew. He doubted anyone else would question if the Senator suddenly died for unknown reasons. The Senator's right hand man could die of some terrible incurable disease, and the soldier in the basement could die of bad prison food. It wouldn't raise any concerns. After all, prison food was notoriously bad and what could you do of an incurable disease? Of course, he'd probably have to inflict a couple of people with the 'disease' to make it believable.

He stopped in the middle of a hallway, trying to discern which way would lead to the dungeons. Figuring that all of the Senator's palaces were built the exact same, he went down the nearest hall way, trying to remember the layout of the last castle he's been in.

-80808080808-

Cyrus woke slowly, trying to stay in his dreams as long as he possibly could. It was cold wet and smelly, wherever he was, and he didn't like it. He eventually woke though, and he wasn't happy with what he saw.

Once again he woke in one of the nasty slime coated cells, only this time, Alec and Max lie unconscious on the floor.

"I see you're awake." A chilling voice said.

Cyrus' head snapped up, spotting a figure standing on the outside of the cell, smirking at him through the metal bars. It was a he, that much had been indicated by his voice. He was rather tall for the average beorc, but slim, though not in a lanky way. His raven colored hair was messily strewn about his face, his bangs covering half of it and the rest pulled back into a pony tail. Something was off about his aura, something that seemed familiar, yet completely different.

"That was a good attempt back there. Next time, you might want to hunch a little bit more. I could see your wings." The man said playfully, a sort of purr in his voice.

"And what are you? Security?" Cyrus asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Or, perhaps you're going to help spring us from these cells."

The man chuckled, the sound inhumanly cat-like. "Hmm, perhaps that would be fun. I could chase the mouse some more." He tilted his head to the side, his face coming into the light. Menacing golden cat eyes swirling with conflicted emotions sought out Cyrus', pinning the hawk in his place. The eyes of a hunter, the eyes of a killer. "But, it seems that you succumb to my whims as easily as all the others birdie." He said, flashing a smile that revealed his pointed canines.

Cyrus shook himself of the stare, trying with valiant effort not to become paralyzed again. "You're one of the branded." That aura, it was the same as Soren's, that's why he recognized it…

"That I am." He said in his purring voice. "So glad you noticed."

"What are you doing here?" Cyrus' voice was much colder than he intended it to be. This place was full of whacks, but why was a Halfling here?

The cat-man picked up on the obvious despise in Cyrus' voice, his smile spreading in a completely demented way. "Why so mean Birdie?" He asked, mock-hurt in his voice. "It is not my fault I am this way. Oh no no no no. That wretched, wretched man made me this way. Oh yes." His began purring again, his yellow eyes flashing with amusement. "But riddle me this Birdie, what would you have me do if it _was _my fault. Hmm?"

Cyrus chose to ignore that comment, his eyes straying to the darkened hall way behind the cat-man. "Why are you here?" He asked again, this time not letting any emotion escape into his voice.

The cat-man purred all the louder at the question. "Because Birdie, I _like _it here. Master Izuka is so kind to me, and so is everyone else. Isn't that strange Birdie? That a Branded can find refuge with beorc, but not the laguz. What _accepting _people they are!" He chuckled, eying Cyrus with something akin to hunger. Cyrus shivered involuntarily as the golden eyes swept him. "But, it seems that our conversation cannot continue Birdie. Master Izuka is coming for you. Be ready, for after this, you'll not remember a single thing of your past." The cat-man purred one last time before disappearing into the darkness, his form melting into the shadows like a hell-borne specter.

Sure enough, the silence was shortly broken by the shuffling of many feet. Izuka, the crazy man from before, was accompanied by several cultists, all with face masks of various birds types.

"Time to go!" Izuka said happily, taking a ring of keys from the depths of his robes, picking out a key and sliding it into the lock. The door swung open with a sickly squeak, and two of the cultists walked in, grabbing Cyrus by his arms and hefting him to his feet, taking care to be as rough as possible.

"Now, off to _THE ROOM_! Weee!" Izuka giggled madly, leading the way down the hall with a jubilant bounce in his step.

Cyrus cast a final, pleading look into the cage where Alec and Max still slept. Fear suddenly gripped his mind, causing him to struggle against the grip of the masked cultists. "I'll NOT be tampered with!" He growled, his voice turning into a high-pitched screech as he began to transform into his bird state. A fabricated gust of wind stopped him from struggling any more, the blades of magic cutting deeply into his skin.

"We'll be having none of that!" One of the cultists said, a book of wind in his hand. "That is, unless you _want_ to die…"

"I'd rather die than be subjected to what torture you have made for me!" Cyrus spat angrily.

"That's what they _all_ say." One of the cultists replied. The others all chuckled, the two holding him tightening their grip on his arms and marching him forward.

They came to a section of the place that was well lit and fairly clean. It was obvious it was used often. Hidden eyes stared at him from the dark depths of their hoods as he was paraded through the crowd of gathering cultists. Murmurs of excitement started up, and the crowd moved with him, coming to a stop at rounded stone walls.

A door appeared where Cyrus thought had only been stone, and he was forced into the room. It was plain and round, the only decorations being a menacing metal chair in the middle and glowing torches high on the walls.

The two cultists forced Cyrus to sit in the cold metal chair, binding his wings behind his back in a painful way and locking thick metal chains to his wrists and ankles. They then backed away, standing by the wall while Cyrus tugged at his bindings, testing their strength.

A bowed little man with a vile of something disgusting walked in through yet another hidden door, his cloak white and mask-less. "Ah, another hawk." He said with a rather bored tone, inspecting Cyrus from the shadows of his hood. "Yes, I think that I can agree with Master Izuka, birds _are _the most fun."

"I suppose you'll be the one to transform me." Cyrus said dully, eyeing the vile.

"Of course of course. Who else would it be?" The cloaked man said with a fiendish amusement. He uncorked the bottle, and Cyrus clamped his mouth shut, trying to be as difficult as possible. "Ahh, they always do this. I get so tired of it." The man said with a sigh. He reached forward and squeezed a point along Cyrus' jaw line with a surprising amount of force, compelling him to open his mouth or break his jaw. The little man emptied the contents of the bottle and forced his mouth closed once more.

Cyrus swallowed, feeling the contents of the vile liquid burn down his throat and into his stomach. The little man backed away, watching as the potion's effects began to take place.

The hawk withered in place, trying to resists the nauseating effects of the liquid. A screech escaped his throat as a terrible, inescapable burning sprouted from his gut, like a million hot knives ripping and shredding at his innards. He dug his fingers into the metal with strength that he didn't know he could have ever possibly possessed. There was a sharp crack as the armrest broke under the strain, the chains that were connected drug Cyrus off his seat and onto the floor where he huddled, whimpering and clawing at whatever was in reach.

Anything to make the pain go away.

The burning only escalated, reaching with tearing fingers to consume his whole body. He tried to hold in his scream of agony, but it tore out of his throat, making it raw as an inner power tried to consume him. He embraced the power, accepting it's cold nothingness.

Anything to make the pain go away.

He forgot. He Forgot who he was, he forgot what he was. He forgot the pain, he forgot what it was like to feel. A face hovered before him for a fleeting second. He forgot of the Mercenary company. He forgot the boy. He forgot Alec…

A soft black light covered Cyrus and as he fell into unconsciousness, he slowly transformed into the black beast he had now become.


	16. Chapter 16: Halls and Cages

**Chapter 16: Halls and Cages**

Mist watched Leanne sleep, hemming a shirt to pass the time.

The Heron Princess had awoken sometime ago and told them everything she knew about the attack that had taken Reyson away. She had even managed to tell them how many days it would have normally take her to travel to the spot. Afterwards, she had been left to sleep while Ike tried to find Aramin. He had decided that they needed to find the base of this _Atra Bestia _clan and wipe them out before they could do anything else.

A small grin broke out on Mist's face as she thought of her brother. In a way, it was rather amusing to watch him make a fool of himself, but she also felt sorry for him. She guessed it wasn't his fault that he had no idea he liked Elincia. Part of her wanted to help him out a bit, but the other part was over riding her kind side for the sake of seeing Ike screw up again.

It was a really mean thought, but she didn't care at the moment. For the sake of 'security', he had decided to leave her behind in the next mission, and if she made an appearance he would personally lock her up in the prison cells and tell the guard to not let her out.

A knock on her door snapped her out of her musings, and she looked up to see Mari standing in the doorway, a shy smile on her face. "Has she woken up yet?"

Mist shook her head, turning her attention back towards the shirt in her hands. "I don't blame her either. Traveling what would normally take two days in the course of one night."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Mari agreed, taking a seat on the floor. Silence fell between them, the sound of Mari's tail swishing across the floor the only thing disturbing the silence. "Do you think that she would be able to help out Veritar?"

Mist blinked a couple times, studying Mari. "He's still not able to transform?"

Mari shook her head. "No, he's becoming rather frustrated."

"I'll ask when she wakes up. I don't doubt it though. She and Reyson were able to restore Rajion and he was pretty much warped beyond repair." Mist replied.

"Rajion?" Mari asked, one of her ears twitching as she cocked her head to the side.

"Oh yeah, I keep on forgetting that you weren't always with us… King Ashnard rode a Goldean Dragon that was warped. Reyson and Leanne sung a galdr and restored him. It was really beautiful." Mist said with a small sigh. She began humming as she hemmed the shirt, and Mari listened intently, her ears swiveling forward.

"Is that one of the heron's songs?" She asked softly.

Mist nodded without disturbing her humming.

Ike graced the two with his presence, knocking softly on the doorframe. "Mari, we're moving our now. Aramin's back from his mission, and he says the he knows where we can find _Atra Bestia's _base."

Mari nodded, standing up and patting off her dress. "I'll see you later Mist." They walked out together, leaving Mist to brood over her sewing. One of these days, her brother would get what was coming to him.

-80808080808-

Reyson struggled fruitlessly against the cloaked men and was forced into a grimy cell, the metal bars slammed in his face. "You will pay for this!" He spat, rattling the bars of the cage in his rage, his white wings spread out behind him.

A little cloaked man chuckled. "And who will make us pay? Will it be you? You are locked behind bars."

"Leanne escaped. She'll alert Tibarn, and he will find you. When he does, you'll regret ever having touched me." Reyson said in a deadly quiet voice.

The little man chuckled again. "The hawk king? I think not. We sent hawks and crows to catch your precious sister. She'll not escape."

"Leave the birdie alone." A voice purred, a sleight figure of a man appearing out of the darkness in the hallways. The cultists shrank back from this newest figure, bowing their heads and adverting their eyes. "Go away now. There is no need to tantalize the poor birdie."

"As you wish Il'Rangein." The little man said, shrinking even further before turning and briskly walking away, eager to put some distance between himself and the raven-haired man.

Reyson cocked an eyebrow at the new man, sensing traces of beorc and laguz in him, as well as large amounts of the soul warping concoction. His aura was tainted and distorted, almost to the point where Reyson felt he would become physically ill. Il'Rangein seemed to notice this, and chuckled in an entirely feline way.

"I see that you are much more perceptive than the last birdie that came through here." He said, examining Reyson like a cat would a wounded bird. "Already you have noticed that I am neither laguz nor beorc."

Reyson stayed silent, uneasy and curious as to how the cat-man had figured that out so quickly.

"I suppose that now you wish to know what your are doing here." His voice suddenly became darker, taking on a gruff tone that seemed the exact opposite of the playful tone he had used earlier. "You're a threat to our workings, Heron. You are lucky to still be alive at all." A very evil grin crossed his face, revealing the pointed canines that were a trademark of the beast tribes. "I would take pleasure in killing you myself, after all, Heron blood is the finest of all. It's so full of magic." He licked his lips, pinning Reyson to the spot with his golden eyes with their silted pupils. Reyson felt as if his soul were laid bare beneath those eyes, open for Il'Rangein to examine at his will.

"I am Il'Rangein, Keeper of the Laguz, Watcher of the Warped Beasts. But I am also Scythe, Hunter and Murder of those that defy me." He paused, studying Reyson carefully. He reached through the bars, touching Reyson's cheek with surprising delicacy. "So fine. To bad I cannot kill you. It would be such a fun hunt." He smirked, drawing a fine line of blood across his cheek, letting the red liquid flow freely onto his fingers. "Yes, fine indeed." Scythe chuckled again, lapping the blood from his fingers. "I look forward to your release Heron." He turned pulled something from a pocket. The object was wrapped in thick cloth and well tied. Reyson recognized it as the dark medallion.

"How unfortunate that your sister could not join us. Just as well I suppose. We still have the medallion, and we still have you. The Dark God can still be released from his cage. Such a heavy thing." Scythe said his attention focused on the cloth wrapped medallion. "I suppose this is the weight of the wrath of a dark god. Such a wonder that so much energy can be contained in such a small device, wouldn't you say?" He looked at Reyson out of the corner of his eye, smirking ever so slightly. He put the medallion back within the depths of his pocket and turned, facing the opposite wall. "I look forward to your release Heron. It will be a marvelous hunt." With those parting words, he disappeared into the shadows of the hallway.

Reyson nearly fell after being released from the spell that had kept him still for so long under Scythe's golden gaze. He placed a shaking hand to his cheek, wiping away the blood that pooled there. 'His eyes, cat eyes. What is a Branded doing in a place like this? I would think that any one with even the barest hint of laguz blood would stay as far away as possible from this place.' He turned, pacing the length of the cell.

Without even realizing it, he opened his mind, listing in on the thoughts floating around the building. The energy of the place was absolutely disgusting. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was where all the laguz were being warped. He stopped his pacing suddenly as a non-warped thought brushed against him, no more than a fain whisper. Was it possible that there were other laguz like him, trapped and waiting for their fate?

As he sat against the wall, hoping to pick up on those faint thoughts, his mind strayed to Leanne. 'Please, get away safely…'

-80808080808-

Aramin stood by Ike, surveying the cave before them. Even from twenty feet away, he could smell the must wafting up from the crevice.

"Your sure this is the place?" Ike asked, his face betraying no emotion.

"This is where all of my sources have told me that the black laguz originated." Aramin replied with a shrug.

Ike nodded, turning to face the gathered mercenaries. Everyone had come, even Taiust and his wyvern. The Ex-General had scoffed at the idea that his marvelous wyvern would have trouble maneuvering in tight corridors. "Soren, what do you suggest we do?"

The sage considered that question for a moment, studying the cave mouth intently. "We'll split in two groups. Foot units together and mounted units together. Pyren, you'll go with the mounted units, you shouldn't be too much of a burden. Put Titania, Oscar and Veritar on the front line. If we come to a door, you can knock it down. From there, we'll split off. Our objective is to find Reyson if he's still alive. Aramin that will be your task. As soon as we're in, go by yourself and locate him. We'll stay behind and create a distraction. Geoffrey, once Aramin has found Reyson, you'll go and retrieve him. We'll cover you, and then we'll get out of there. If it becomes necessary to destroy the whole cult, then we will, but chances are that they'll have lots of magic and they'll want us out. They have more men, and the advantage of knowing their home. We could be walking right into a dark corridor rigged with crossbows for all we know."

"Alright. Oscar, Titania, get up front. Geoffrey and I will cover your flanks. Tauist, I want you to cover our rear until we know what our maneuverability in this cave is going to be like. You might have to abandon your wyvern. Mercenaries, move out!" Ike yelled, unsheathing his sword.

Oscar and Titania spurred their horses forward, throwing weapons at the ready. The caves lead them down a twisting slope, worn in a path by many feet. The cave soon turned into a cavern that mocked the Chapel in Begnion. Taiust rode his wyvern up to the ceiling, getting a good view of the whole cave. "There are pits all around, some of which I can not see the bottom of. There is a bridge that leads to a large door ahead. That is our best guess." He said in a very business-like voice when he had landed once more.

"You'll have to knock it down." Soren said, nodding towards Titania and Oscar. "I doubt that it would be left open."

The clopping of hooves echoed off of the high ceilings, coming back as distorted sounds that remind one of dark creatures lurking in darker places. The door that bared their entrance was engraved with ancient symbols of power, wrought of silver and gold wire and pounded into the wood.

"_Walk not fourth,  
Believers of the light  
For within lies  
Your ultimate Demise._

_Bear a grudge  
Posses a sin  
Welcome in._

_Come fourth  
Believers of the dark  
A tainted mind,  
Is welcomed by our Kind._

_Bear a hope  
Possess a dream  
Towards the light you lean_

_Without a Soul  
Swallowed Whole  
Dare you tread  
Into this house of Dread?"_

Everyone stared at Soren as he recited the lines, surprised by the somber tone of his voice. "That's what the words say." He replied to all the confused stares directed his way.

"Sounds bad." Pyren piped up with a snort. "Do you think they'll have magic guarding this door that will warp us like the laguz?"

"They can't have made anything like that." Soren said, though his voice lacked his characteristic assurance. He touched the gold engravings on the door, and pushed on them, surprised to find that they swung forward on oiled hinges. A wave of cold air rushed out at them, startling the horses and the wyvern, causing Titania to almost loose her seat when her horse reared.

Ike walked forward, clapping a hand on Soren's shoulder. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure." The sage almost took a step forward, drawn by a force from within the darkness that he didn't completely understand. He thought better of it though, and shook his head. "Let Titania and Oscar go ahead. Mari and Mennen should go to the front as well, they'll be able to see better in this darkness." He took a diminutive step back, averting his eyes to the floor.

"I'll see you then." Aramin said with a smirk. "Don't miss me." He winked in an entirely cocky way, disappearing into the great black maw of the hallway before them.

He noticed that it was very dark in the hallway, but he could see as well as if he were walking along a familiar path in the daylight. Nothing too disturbing about that. After all, this place was rumored to have a bunch of mad scientists running around all over the place. They probably figured out a way to make the walls glow or something. What did bother him was the lack of people. There was absolute silence in the dark halls.

As he went deeper into the hold, he began to notice a sort of metallic smell. Like the smell of blood. He began to be able to notice an increase of light, as well as doors and tapestries interrupting the flow of stonewall. A low bellow interrupted the silence, accompanied by screeches and yowls. 'That means that the feral laguz are that way.' He headed towards the direction of the noise, on the look out for any people. Still no one came into view.

He kept walking, and cells with metal bars barring the exit started appearing off to his right. He had to cover his nose, for the dirty cells smelled of decaying things he would rather leave unexamined. None of them contained any living creatures, until he came to a part of the hallway with torches.

Inside one of the cages was a dejected looking laguz, one of the beast tribe. The laguz looked up, startled with Aramin's appearance. "Are you an allusion of my mind or am I looking upon flesh and blood?" The tiger ground out, sounding rather hopeless.

Aramin pulled out a lock pick, sticking the device into the lock on the cage and began fiddling with it. "Your still sane. I'm real." He replied, hearing a click with a satisfied smirk. He opened the door, surprised that it swung forward easily as well. "Go down this hall as quietly and quickly as you can. Avoid every cultist you see. There is an armed party that will help you if you need it.

The tiger laguz rose, coming out of the cell as if he were afraid. When no cultists appeared to throw him back into the cave, he crushed Aramin against his chest in a grateful hug. "Thank you little beorc." The tiger then transformed, bounding away in silence.

Aramin coughed a few times, surprised by how strong the tiger was. He could have broken a few ribs in that hug. He pulled out a strip of cloth from the depths of his robes, tying back his hair like a headband as he looked down the hallway, seeing numerous laguz come forward, trying to see who had disturbed the silence.

At least he had brought a lot of lock picks…

-80808080808-

Veritar strode forward with Mari and Mennen at his sides, leading the rest of the mercenary company through the dark halls. His memories briefly flashed back to when he had been imprisoned beneath the Senator's castle. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of the vile stuff they forced upon him. The effects still lingered, and he was still unable to transform. He'd now spent about a week sleeping out side of the Begnion city, for fear of the town guard attacking him. Of course he could take them, but it probably wouldn't reflect well on his race.

There was a distinct growl from ahead of him, and he peered down the dark hallway, spotting three of the black laguz and a cultist, who took off running as soon as he saw the dragon looming in the darkness. Mennen darted forward, catching one of the black laguz around the neck as Mari darted over the creature's head, stopping the cultist dead in his tracks. The two other laguz pounced on Mennen, but not before Veritar sucked in a massive breath and spouted flame from his maw, immediately luminating the whole hallway. The two cats fell to the ground without so much as a yowl, dead and charred.

"This is where we split." Soren said loud enough for everyone to hear. He looked down the two hallways at the 'T' interval, and pointed off to the way that the cultist was trying to run. "Foot units will go this way. Mounted units will go the other way. If you sustain to bad of an injury, retreat immediately. Mennen, go with them. If you have to retreat, you'll be the runner so we know and we don't get surrounded."

The two groups split, heading their separate ways in the darkness.

"Commander, do you think it's really safe to split us up like this?" Rhys asked quietly, looking nervously around the darkened hallways.

"We're the larger party, and that man was heading this way. That probably means that the guard or who ever is in charge is this way. If we eliminated them first, it shouldn't be to hard to conquer this place." Ike replied.

"I see. So you do plan to eliminate this place now instead of just getting Master Reyson and leavening?" Rhys asked.

"That is my thought exactly. If we're out matched, we'll obviously have to comeback later, but we know where they are, and we can always summon Begnion's troops." Ike said simply, his hand never leaving Ragnell's hilt.

Rhys remained silent, staring after the towering form of Veritar. "I pray to Ashera that we find our comrades alive. If not, please Goddess, I pray their souls you keep…"

Ike clapped the priest on the shoulder, offering his support to the frail man. Suddenly the company came to a halt, and Ike moved forward to the front of the lines, shocked at what he saw before him.

They stood on a balcony with a staircase leading to the floor hundreds of feet below. Above loomed the cavern ceiling, and below was a city nearly as large as the Crimean Capitol city. People in cloaks bustled about the city buildings below them, some stopping to look up at the intruders. From somewhere across the massive cavern a bell rang, and flashes of magic erupted in the underground city.

"Mari, you must run back and get them. We're retreating _now_." Soren said, his voice harsh. Mari darted back down the hall as fast as she could run. He stepped back, starting to head after her. "Don't just stand there you idiots!" He yelled, startling the rest out of their surprised state. They turned, running away from the balcony edge. As soon as they did, and explosion of lightning crashed into the balcony, shattering the stone into a million pieces.

-80808080808-

Aramin ran the length of the hallway, determined to find that stupid Heron and free him if it was the last thing he did. He had freed about fifty of the trapped laguz in his mind, and he had heard the commotions of battle behind him. It wouldn't take long before every cultist in the whole place was roused. Someone would have to find him lurking about the halls. He came down another hall, and was surprised to find Alec and Max, staring blankly around the cell.

Max snapped out of his idol state first, staring at Aramin with something akin to horror. "What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, his voice bitter.

"I'm going to save you, you ungrateful bastard." Aramin said with mock anger, whipping out his lock pick. "As soon as I get you out, run down that hall. You need to get out of here quick. Everyone should be at the door waiting for your heroic return." Aramin said, irritated that not all the locks were of the same level. Some, like this one, took a genius to figure out. Luckily he was one of those too.

Alec came forward, looking worried and hopeful at the same time. "Have you seen Cyrus?"

Aramin shook his head, holding the cell door open for them. "Can't say I have. I'll keep checking though."

"What if you get lost in here?" Alec asked.

"Then you'll know where to find me." Aramin replied with a cocky grin. "Just don't get caught. I don't want to have to stop and free you guys again."

"We'll remember that." Max said, taking a dejected looking Alec by the shoulder and hurrying him down the hallway.

Aramin started off the opposite way, still looking for the Heron prince. He arrived in a huge stone room, eerily lit with sputtering torches. There was a door on the other side of the room, and he headed towards it, but froze as the sound of a door closing caught his attention. He turned around quickly, pulling out his dual daggers. A man leaned against the doorframe, spinning a throwing dagger absently as he stared at Aramin, his raven bangs hiding half his face.

"I see that security is much lacking." The figure said, his voice playful. "I might need to remedy that. After all, you've let a lot of our prisoners loose. We can't have that." He sheathed the dagger with a liquid movement, tossing his bangs to the side and staring at Aramin with his deep golden eyes in plain view. "Good, very good beorc. I was worried that you would succumb to my spell as easily as all of your friends have. It's quite sad." A demented smile crossed his face and he walked forward casually with a feline grace, which in Aramin's opinion was quite disturbing.

"I suppose your going to give me the long speech about how my efforts are useless." Aramin droned, ready to flee through the open doors behind him. He didn't trust the man. There was something very wrong with him.

"Ah, I see that you're quite experienced in the ways of us high-and-mighty types. Well, I won't bore you then." He pulled out a pair of short swords, their blood colored edges giving off a menacing glow. "I am Scythe, keeper of these halls. You are about to die. Any final wishes?"

"None that I can think of." Aramin replied, a smirk crossing his face. "See, I need to live because I've got this job to do. Thanks for the invitation though." He turned, sprinting through the open door. A streak of color beat him to the door, and it slammed before him, Scythe grinning like a maniac with one clawed hand on the door.

"Oh no, we can't have you escaping. I haven't had my fun yet!" He lunged forward with a fluid movement, nearly catching Aramin's shirt with the shining edge of his short sword.

Aramin rolled away, his daggers flashing as he spun them in his hands, ready for the next attack. It came quicker than he expected, the red tinted swords flashing before his face in a marvelous and deadly dance. Aramin blocked and parried at the last second, recognizing that he was outmatched against this odd man. Slowly, he began to retreat across the room, all his concentration on the deadly swords before him.

He stumbled on an uneven stone in the floor, and Scythe scored a hit on him. With a flourish, Aramin flipped to his feet, attacking Scythe and was rewarded with the sound of tearing cloth.

The two circled each other, looking for openings. "You are not so bad little beorc." Scythe said in his menacingly low voice.

"Why thank you." Aramin replied through gritted teeth. That damn guy put poison on his blade!

"Hmm, a cocky beorc. Mayhap I should cut that waggling tongue out of your head." Scythe said with a smirk. He bolted forward with surprising speed, the hilt of his sword slamming Aramin in the stomach with enough force to send him skidding backwards five feet. Before he could fall to his knees in pain, a hand supported him on his shoulder.

"You have much to learn little beorc before you can claim the rights you do." Scythe said softly into his ear. Aramin started to pull away from him in one last act of defiance, but a sword hilt slammed down on the back of his head, rendering him instantly unconscious. "One day little beorc, I'll set you loose. Then I shall hunt the Heron and you." Scythe's voice began to change into the playful tone as he finished his sentence, sheathing his swords. "Yes, one day."

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_This isn't really an announcement, it's just a clarifying thing incase some one is confused about the character known as Scythe. He is a schizophrenic. For those of you who don't know what that is, I suggest visiting dictionary. com. He's got a dual personality, one being Il'Rangein, a playful and rather demented side, the other being Scythe, the side that tends to murder stuff. So when I mention these two people, they are really the same person. He is a Branded like everyone keeps on saying he is, and that combined with the fact that he's been 'experimented' with created his dual personalities. Carry on._


	17. Chapter 17: Dungeons and Dragons

**Chapter 17: Dungeons and Dragons**

Mari skidded to a sudden stop, looking around wildly and trying to find the scent of her brother. Behind her she heard the aggravated roars of the roused laguz and the shouting of the crazed cultists. She sprang down the hallway, hearing the whinny of a frightened steed. Down the corridor she ran, and came to a large square chamber where the Paladins and Wyvern rider were battling with some of the cultists, who were brandishing halberds and magic's of considerable power.

She ran to the nearest horse, which happened to have Titania as a mount. "We're retreating now!" She said as loud as she could over the explosions of magic. Her voice was oddly distorted in cat form, and Titania looked at her oddly, unable to recognize her words as actual speech. "Come!" Mari yelled, pointing towards the door.

"Fall out!" Titania hollered over the racket. Oscar, Geoffrey, and Tauist paused momentarily in their fights.

The wyvern bugled it's defiance to the cultists, and leapt forward, snapping it's jaws around an unfortunate magic user who screamed with pain until he was thrown half way across the room by the aggravated beast. "I'll cover your backs. Retreat now!" Tauist roared, swinging his long handled axe above his head and cleaving a man nearly in half.

There was hesitance from the paladins as they heard his command. It wasn't in their nature to leave a comrade behind. Tauist erased their fears though with a wild grin that he flashed them over his shoulder as his wyvern again leapt into the crowd of magic users, daring any of them to try and match his might.

They retreated without hesitation, Oscar shooting his bow at those who came to close for comfort.

"I'll stay back and make sure he gets out all right." Mennen whispered to Mari as they dashed away from the battlefield, meeting the group on foot at the 'T' intersection. Mari nodded silently, and Mennen snuck off into the shadows, back to where Tauist was holding of the cultists.

"Is everyone here?" Ike yelled, taking a quick head count.

"Commander Ike!" A voice yelled.

Everyone looked in the direction of the yell. Max and Alec came bounding around the corner, looking glad to see some other human beings.

"Where are Aramin and Reyson?" Ike asked right after Mari flew through the air, turning into a human in mid-flight and tackling Alec to the ground in a hug.

"Aramin ran off after he freed us. He said not to wait up." Max replied, looking directly at Ike.

Ike muttered a muffled curse before lifting his voice once more. "We'll have to leave now. There are more of those cultists here than I thought there were."

"We're retreating for good?" Max asked, obviously confused.

Ike nodded jerkily, apparently disliking the sound of retreating as well. "Run ahead and secure our exit." He said to the mounted units. "Take who you can. Where's Taiust?"

The bugle of an enraged wyvern answered Ike's question as the great green beast ran down the corridor, it's head low to avoid scraping it on the high ceiling of the broad corridor. "Their calling in reinforcements." Taiust said grimly from his mounts back, his blood stained axe resting on one of his broad shoulders. "We'd best get out of here."

"Go with them." Ike said, gesturing towards the paladins', whose mounts were impatiently pawing at the ground. "Take someone with you and hold the exit open for us."

Taiust nodded and gestured towards Max, offering him a hand up on his wyvern. He offered a salute to Ike, then his wyvern pelted down the hall after the paladins.

"Lets go. If we get caught, try to escape as fast as possible. I wouldn't doubt that they could lock the doors and trap us in here." Soren said above the clamor.

Alec was given a bow and they met no resistance until they got to the exit. Titania, without her horse, met them before they could turn the final corner.

"What's going on?" Ike asked without preamble, his gut taking a plunge as he imagined the possibilities that Titania could report.

"They've blocked the door. It's locked shut and there's enough of those cultists there to rival the numbers of the Begnion Special Forces." Titania replied grimly in a low voice.

A low whistle escaped Pyren as he heard the news. "That bad? We're going to have to rig a trap." He tapped his chin thoughtfully and all eyes watched him as he strode forward to the corner, looking up at the great ceiling of the main hallway. He gestured for Taiust to get down, and the big soldier did, having to lean down to hear what Pyren was saying to him. The wyvern rider looked shocked, then pleased and he mounted his wyvern again, telling Max to get off.

Pyren came back, looking Soren directly in the eye with a small smirk, daring him to speak out against what plan he was about to propose. "You and I are going to blow a hole in the ceiling above the cultists heads. The rocks will fall killing a good amount of them. Veritar will make a sweep with his fire, and the archers will pick off what's left. Simple, but effective. Any objections?"

"How do you propose we get out once huge boulders block our only exit?" Soren asked skeptically. "Even if we could move them, what if we ruptured the mound above us and the whole structure collapsed on our heads? What then?"

Pyren flashed Soren a dangerous smirk, his eyes alighting with an odd fire. "Either way we're going to die. We might as well take some of those bastards with us."

There was a pause as his words struck the group. Ike huffed, casting a wary glance at the cells lining the walls. "We came to rescue Cyrus, Alec and Max if they were alive, and retrieve Reyson and the medallion. We've yet to find Cyrus, and Aramin still hasn't returned with word of either of the things he was sent to find. If we attempt a suicide mission, we'll have nothing done and the Begnion troops wont know where to find our corpses."

"So you want to give up?" Pyren asked with a raised eyebrow. "Give up and surrender ourselves to their mercy? What then do you propose we do _Commander?_ Stand here until they find us?"

"That's enough." Titania said forcefully. Pyren cast her a sour glance but said no more.

"There's no choice to it. Between the two of you, who is the fastest?" Ike asked, directing his attention towards Mari and Mennen.

"I am." Mari said after the siblings exchanged a meaningful glance.

Soren caught Ike's train of thought and continued for him. "The group that you were battling," here he gestured towards Taiust, Titania, Oscar, and Geoffrey, "will be coming after us soon. The group by the door does not yet know that we are here. We'll spring an attack like what Pyren said on the group by the door. Mari, you'll have to get through them and out that door. Go as fast as you can to Sienne, for the black laguz won't be far behind you. Once the first group is dealt with, those who are remaining will have to either fight or try to get out of the door if there is space enough to get through. If we have to fight because the door is completely blocked, we'll sacrifice the strength of a couple of horses to try and move the rubble away so that we might escape. I trust you'll be able to fight on foot?" He looked towards Titania and Oscar, both nodded. Soren looked back up to Ike, as if seeking permission.

"Lets do it." Ike said with a nod. "My friends, we have made the stand against the Mad King Ashnard and lived to tell the tale. We've spent two long years since letting our skills rust with only the recent weeks to sharpen our blades once more. Reawaken those skills if you wish to survive this test, because together I know it is one that we can conquer."

There was a cheer from the mercenaries at the conclusion of Ike's speech and someone in the back sniffled. "Take your battle formations. We'll put you on the second line Mari. I want Veritar, Titania, and Oscar to clear a path for her before we blow up the ceiling."

As soon as the cultists saw the appearance of the mercenaries, they grouped up into formations, halberd users at the front and magic users in back. The great doors stood wide open, but there was a great rumble from somewhere and they slowly began to swing shut.

"Go!" Ike yelled.

With a deafening roar, Veritar half ran, half glided to the front lines of the mages, sucking in a deep breath and launching his flame at the nearest cultist. Lightning crackled in the air, and the spell was met with glowing blades of wind. The two magical powers clashed, saving Veritar from taking a serious blow. Titania and Oscar charged forward, axe and lance in hand. The cultists parted before their charge, poking their halberds up at the mounted riders, trying to find a hole in their defense.

Titania swung her great long handled axe, shattering the tips of the wooden halberds and knocking aside the metal ones. With a deft second swing of her axe, she cut down a man and her great white battle steed kicked another. Oscar fared as well, his long reach piercing the defenses of the halberdiers before they could fell his noble steed. Taiust flew above the reigning chaos, his wyvern diving over the crowd and clawing at the heads of the cultists if they were in reach. A blade of wind clipped Thane's wing, and he roared, diving straight for the door, sinking his long ivory claws into the stone like wood of the great door. There was a mighty cracking sound, but the door did not pause in it's steady closing. The hole became steadily smaller, to small for a wyvern to fit through.

Mari snuck behind the horses before her, trying not to be noticed in all the confusion. Arrows began to rain over her head and into the crowd of cultists as the bowmen put their talents to use. The clang of steel on steel rang in her ears as she darted to the far wall, sneaking along its length. All that separated her from the closing door was a scant number of mages, all of which were currently wielding wind and thunder tomes, not a trace of fire to be found on them. She judged quickly the height of the cultist and the leap she must take. Without a second thought or backward glance, she sprung into action; pelting forward with what speed she could gain. The cultists yelled out their fear and dismay, a couple retreating from her bold charge. Mari launched into the air; clear over the heads of the cultists who were only then beginning to chant spells that might impede her progress. She ran through the opening of the door, hearing the defiant roar of Thane echo after her and the enraged cries of the cultists damning her. Spells licked at her heels, but she was free, she was safe, and now beyond their grasp.

Mist cheered a hurrah as she saw the golden cat disappear through the portal. It closed with a loud bang, and a cry of retreat rose among the ranks of the mercenaries. She turned her steed, eyeing the wounds of her comrades and sheathing her long-sword in favor of her mending staff. As the mercenaries retreated, she healed the worst of the wounds, watching with something akin to wonder as Soren and Pyren stepped forward, unleashing spells of lightning and fire so fierce that the sound of their release blinded and deafened her for a second. The angry retort of thunder scared the poor beast beneath her, and she nearly lost her seat as it bucked in fear, vocalizing its distress in a harsh cry. She soothed the beast, only for it to ignore her sympathies and bolt away when chunks of the ceiling came crashing down.

Cries of death and despair echoed in the broad corridor as the cultists beneath the falling ceiling were crushed. A scant few survived the downfall, and Veritar, who held no pity for the wounded, quickly dispatched them.

"Don't relax just yet!" Soren said in a warning tone. "There is more coming from the other hall." There was a great clanking of armor coming from the darkened halls, and the mercenaries again prepared for a fight, establishing a neat battle formation with their backs to the pile of rocks and their sides covered by the stone walls.

"Oscar, Titania, see if you can get that door open, even just a bit. Hani, I want you to look around for gears or levers to see if it will open. Do what you can." The three nodded in understanding, Hani skillfully weaving her way through the piles of rubble, Oscar and Titania making their way to the door and throwing their weight against the door, seeing if it would budge.

It would not.

A battalion of heavily armored soldiers painted in black and silver appeared around the corner, stationing themselves in a long line before the mercenaries. On their flanks were the black laguz, behind them rows of magic users. Ike took a steadying breath and sunk into a fighting stance, his sword held aloft.

There was silence in the hall, and tensions grew until all in the room felt it had become a tangible thing ready to snap. There was a clinking of armor and swishing of clothing, originating at the back of the cultists line and working it's way forward. Soon the front line parted, revealing three figures.

A large man, perhaps as large as a tiger of Gallia, was cloaked in black and silver robes. He wore a mask in the same scheme of colors, depicting the face of a snarling dragon of Goldoa. On his breast shone the pendant of the white heron surrounded by black flames.

The second man was short and hunched, wearing a robe of black and purple. His hair fell around his face in greasy purple locks and he rubbed his hands as if washing them. He wore the same emblem on his robe, but it was not nearly as shiny or as visible on his chest as the man with the mask.

The third was a slight figure of a man with raven locks strewn about his head, some of the longer ones caught back in a careless ponytail. Half his face was hid behind his bangs and his eyes shadowed from view. He wore no robe, but a blood red shirt with the arms ripped off, a loose jacket that fell to his thigh with a high color adorned his slim shoulders, and two swords that looked more like elongated daggers adorned either side of his hips, sheathed in scabbards that matched his shirt.

The man with the mask grunted, the sound echoing loudly off the walls. "This is what has rallied all of our attention? This small group of sell swords? Why are they not dead?"

A laugh came from the raven-haired man, and all turned to look at him involuntarily, for his laugh was tinted with that of madness. "You ask if _this is it? Is it all? _What a blind man you are! I would have thought better of you! No, what you perceive is wrong, very wrong."

"Scythe…" The masked man started in a warning tone.

"No, this is not Scythe that speaks. It is Il'Rangein and he is giving you an opinion that is sorely needed." The man said, a grin spreading across his face as he looked up for the first time, one golden eye searching those before him. "Master Izuka should recognize them, for they are the same that drove him from Crimea and the service of his king."

The purple haired man trembled visibly at the mention. "I would know that boy anywhere!" Izuka pointed an accusing finger at Ike, who had let the point of his sword drop as he took on a less combat ready stance. "He is the one who fought with those filthy sub-humans!"

"Indeed." Il'Rangein replied, his voice darkening slightly. "He is the same. The one who put an end to Ashnard's reign. I remember the day well." His gaze ventured to seek Ike's eyes, and there he met a steely resistance against the powers of his gaze. "Give up boy. Your time is up. You are surrounded, with walls on your sides, a pile of dead at your back, and an army that greatly outnumbers you blocking your only path out. That girl will find no lever or switch, for only one of us may activate the key that turns the lock. _Walk not fourth, Believers of the light For within lies Your ultimate Demise. _Perhaps one day I shall inscribe a verse that will prompt fools such as yourself to heed the warnings scripted upon great looming doors." His voice had sunk to a great rumble, deep and commanding, yet quiet all the same.

Ike's grim visage of stone was yet un-cracked by Il'Rangein's words. "I have survived a duel with a madman. I think I can survive another."

Il'Rangein chuckled. "You think me mad? Perhaps I am mad. Perhaps you are mad as well, leading your men into a death hold. _Dare you tread Into this house of dread? _I dare say you do, and now you shall pay for your folly." He smirked, lifting a clawed hand above his head. A great rattling of armor echoed off the walls as the armored men lowered their lances, the laguz ready to pounce and the magicians chanting their spells.

A grim smile cracked Ike's stony face as he lifted Ragnell. He said a silent prayer to Ashera, and cast a sideways glance to those beside him. Geoffrey offered him a glance readying his spear, and Veritar huffed defiantly, smoke trickling from his nostrils.

"Die." Scythe leveled his pointed finger at Ike's chest, and the men around him charged forward, crying out their battle cries.

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DS: Now, before you get all gaspity, (no that is not a real word) I DID use the word 'Bastard' instead of its cheap substitute and FE approved version, 'Dastard'. Don't have a cow. I'm sure you've seen/heard that word somewhere else and you didn't go "OHHHHHHH! You're in TROUUUUUUBLE! You said a BAAAAAD WOOOOORD!"

Sparkles: -snerk- In other words people, this is rated T for a reason.

DS: And I shall be pushing the limits of that T rating in future chapter with my excessive violence:D


	18. Chapter 18: Too Late?

**Chapter 18: Too Late?**

There was silence as Anthony absently tapped his finger to his chin, staring at the Apostle who held a morbid expression on her face. Christiana bit her lip, watching first one and then they other as if watching a tennis match. Finally her patience broke and she set her fits on the table before her with enough force to startle her brother and the Apostle.

"Why are we still just sitting here? We've heard the report. Why don't we go and help them?" She asked, agitation coloring her voice. "Mari said that we should hurry, or they would die! We can't just leave them! What about Taiust? He's with them too you know!"

Anthony held up a hand, silencing his sister. "We're not a liberty to mobilize."

Christiana let and exasperated sigh escape her. "Why not? You're not of this country, and the Apostle won't object to us saving the mercenaries that are under her secret employment!"

"That's just the problem. We can't simply just rush to their aid. I did not bring a task force here, as you well know. The Apostle can't act without offending the Senators if what that Crimean spy said is correct. The rebellious Senators would accuse her of a direct attack against them and succeed from the nation. You know what that would do to Daein's already fragile system." Anthony replied sounding a bit exasperated himself. "Besides, we are guests in this country and not at liberty to mobilize our forces in Begnion's borders. To many questions would be raised."

The Apostle cleared her throat, attracting the attention of the siblings. "I will send my troops. I'll hold a senate meeting and announce that our spy network has found and reported the cult and I sent a small troop to act on the information that was given to me. I'll know who in the Senate is still on my side then. Those who are for the laguz enslavement will not remain quiet if they know I have discovered their greatest project and intend to destroy it." Here the Apostle stood, summoning a handmaid to her service. The maid hurried away after the Apostle whispered some words to her.

"Further, how could I possibly know if a few wanderers just happen to sneak into my armory and march with them? I'm certainly not the one in charge of the head count." The Apostle cast the two a sideways glance and left the room, leaving the siblings to be escorted out of the room.

"Where's the armory?" Christiania asked as soon as their escort was out of hearing range.

"I don't know…" Anthony walked into his room, and his eye was drawn to a sheet of paper, sealed with a wax stamp bearing no insignia. He broke the seal and looked over the contents, a small grin spreading over his face. "Sister, what five men do you think can best keep a secret?"

Christiania fell into deep thought, tapping her finger to her chin. "The two sword masters and three of the halberdiers. I forget their names, but I know that they were around when our parents were still alive."

"I know the five your talking about. Lets go and request their presence at the secret entrance to the armory, shall we?" Anthony asked, holding out an arm for his sister to take.

Christiania's face lit up with a smile as she took his arm. "That sounds like a marvelous plan. What a beautiful day it is to be taking a walk!" She giggled quietly, feeling slightly giddy at the prospect of sneaking into the Begnion army and fighting against a band of savage cultists.

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Leanne concentrated hard, trying with all of her might to contact her brother, to see how he was doing. Her efforts were met with a blank echo of her own thoughts; his mind and his very presence were out of her reach. A tear slid down her cheek as she thought of just how alone she would be if Reyson were to die at the hands of the cultists. She couldn't bear the thought of loosing her only living relative, but she couldn't dismiss the thought either.

A small knock sounded at her door, and she told who ever it was to come in, hastily wiping away her tears.

It was Mari, looking very sad herself. Traces of tears were not on her face or in her eyes, but Leanne could sense that the laguz child had been crying. "Hey, I thought I would just check up on you and see how you were doing."

"Thank you Mari. What is to become of them?" Leanne asked, more tears forming in her eyes.

_Mari ran towards the palace gates, panting hard with her exertion. She hadn't stopped once in her flight to the Begnion capital. Twice the black laguz had come after her, and she had lost them twice without a scratch for her efforts. The palace guards blocked her way with their halberds, not recognizing her for who she was. She leapt over them and ran into the courtyards, where apparently Leanne had sensed her coming._

_The heron princess looked both worried and hopeful as Mari transformed into her human state. "What news do you have?" She asked, searching Mari's face for a hint of an answer._

_"They're trapped underground. I have to talk to the Apostle! There's no time to waste! If we don't hurry, they're going to be in some serious trouble." Mari replied hurriedly, half running inside the palace. She didn't stop when the guards held up their spears against her. When they saw Leanne coming right after her, they dropped their weapons and stared in wonder at the two as they ran towards the center of the palace._

_Mari bounded in through the huge doors of the main cathedral, begging entrance to see the Apostle. Tanith replied to her call, and without waiting to explain herself, Mari ducked under Tanith's arm into the room._

_The Apostle, Anthony, and Christiana all looked at her oddly as she stood panting in the middle of the room. "Ike needs help, and quick." Mari said, watching their faces. "The company is trapped. I can show you the way there." She then collapsed, the energy it took to remain in her cat form coupled with her exertion over the passed day overwhelming her._

"They'll help him. They have to. That cult is the root of all our problems. We'll have to go there anyways." Mari said with conviction in her voice.

"I hope we are not too late…" Leanne whispered, shivering slightly. "I can't sense Reyson." Fresh tears sprang to her eyes and Mari sat by her side, hugging Leanne.

"We'll go and get them. We'll save them." Mari said, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

A soft knock interrupted them, and a palace maid opened the door a crack. "Miss Mari? The Apostle has deployed a band of troops, you are to lead them."

"Seriously?" Mari asked, both she and Leanne jumping up at the same time.

"Yes miss. They are waiting for you." The maid responded, offering Mari a small bow.

Mari turned a determined gaze towards Leanne. "I'll bring them back. I promise."

Leanne hugged Mari tightly, muttering something in her own language before letting her go out the door.

Mari followed the maid out, wondering why she was going so slowly. Eventually, they arrived in the courtyard where over 100 soldiers stood, fully equipped with lances and armor. She stared suspiciously at two soldiers who seemed a bit shorter than the rest, one with a sword and the other with an axe. She shrugged off her suspicion and reported to a man in thick red armor with blue hair.

"Sir, I'm Mari, I'm the one that will be leading you." She said, puffing out her chest as much as she could to try and seem not as small as she really was compared to the huge general.

"A see. Go then, we'll be right behind you." The man said, fitting a helmet over his head.

Mari transformed with a flourish, sprinting out of the courtyard gates, her thoughts and hopes with her brother.

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Scythe watched with a half smile as the mercenaries fought against his cultists. They were doing well, considering how outnumbered they were. Really, it was too bad such fine beorc would have to be killed. He would probably have enjoyed fighting with them individually.

A cry came from somewhere behind him, it was faint and almost covered up by the sounds of battle, but it was there. Scythe left the battleground, Izuka and the masked man looking after him with curious stares. He didn't stop for them though, he continued down the hallway without so much as a backward glance.

The hallway was darker than usual, a feature that Scythe didn't fail to notice. What ever were those silly cultists doing that it would detract from the magic that kept the hall lit? What ever it was, he didn't like it. The cry came again, only this time it was quieter, more desperate, as if the emitter of the sound was being choked. He came to the cage the heron was in and looked in with disgust.

The heron was curled up on the floor, looking much paler than usual, his skin almost transparent. He shivered uncontrollably, uttering the small cry every once in a while. Feathers were strewn around the cage and more began to fall from the heron's wings.

Scythe narrowed his eyes at the heron, cursing its frailness. The vapors of the potion were beginning to affect him, how ever faint they were. Il'Rangein leaned forward and smiled sadly, remembering of a time long ago when Scythe had yet to be born in him. Oh how painful that transformation had been, yet it had given him a friend, someone that he could confide in whenever the beorc treated him badly. Scythe had made them respect them, and no matter how opposite they were, they lived in the same body and they were friends. Would the Heron gain a friend, or would he simply die?

"He will die." Scythe said, his voice cold. "The potion is too strong for a frail bird like him. It will consume him, and then we'll have to capture the other one."

"A creature so fair can not be tainted by workings of the Dark God. The Goddess smiles on him and that is why he dies. For something this pure, death would be better than becoming a toy." Il'Rangein replied, shaking his head sadly and leaning away from the cage, heading down the hall.

Scythe merely remained quiet at Il'Rangein's statement, for they both knew it was true.

"The other one should be doing fine though." Il'Rangein said to himself, a demented smile appearing on his face. "We should check on him, just to make sure."

The thief was kept far away from the exits, his cell tucked away within the recesses of the halls. Even if he were to escape, we would never find the exit. Il'Rangein approached the cell and looked in, only slightly disturbed to see the cell empty even though the door was still locked.

A blade rested against his neck lightly, drawing a thin line of blood even at the feather light touch. He chuckled, inwardly congratulating the thief for being so silent.

"Never expected that did you?" Aramin asked, his tone cocky. "I hear there's a battle at the exit. Care to tell me who it is?"

"Not particularly, no." Il'Rangein replied in a playful manner, completely ignoring the knife pressed to his neck.

"I see, playing difficult eh? That's always easy to fix. A slip of the hand and whoops!" Aramin 'accidentally' pressed his blade harder into Il'Rangein's neck, causing a darker shade of blood to flow from the knife wound. "You still don't fell like telling?"

Scythe chuckled deep in his throat, turning ever so slightly as to increase the pressure on the blade. "Now you shall kill me thief? I have whished for death before; two minds cannot live in one body. It is blasphemy. I am cursed and hated, simply for existing. No, death would be a welcome visitor to this body. Let the cloaked being come to me now."

Aramin hesitated for only a split second and it was all Scythe needed to roll away from the bloodied knife and withdraw his crimson blades, slashing at Aramin's midsection.

He leapt away, doing a quick black flip to avoid the whistling blades as they threatened to slash at his innards. He stood once more, flashing Scythe a smug smile, a ring of keys in his hand. "It was pleasant getting to know you. I'll return these when I'm done with them." With a flourish, Aramin disappeared into the darkness of the hall, not daring to slow in his retreat from the two-faced being that was sure to come after him.

Scythe only stood in place, blood rolling from the cut in his neck as he watched the spot where Aramin disappeared. A smirk crossed his face as he sheathed his blades, the tips of his fangs showing in the dim light. "Let the hunt begin then."

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Mist ran back and fourth along the ranks of the mercenaries, healing everyone she came by. The crystal on top of her healing staff began to dim; it's magical powers beginning to fade rapidly. The cultists opposing them just seemed to keep coming. No matter how good her healing abilities were, she could not help exhaustion. The toll of a long battle was beginning to show. Reflexes weren't as quick anymore, and the wounds were slowly becoming more serious and more frequent with every minuet that passed. Yet the cultists had a seemingly unending manpower.

The nauseating smell of burning flesh wafted over to her, and she silently wished that Veritar would take a break from torching every cultist that came in his path. She was beginning to get sick.

A flash of purple attracted her eye, and Alec soon materialized by her side, literally bouncing with energy. "I'm out of arrows!" He yelled.

Mist blinked, caught off guard by his statement. "What do you want me to do about it?" She asked, seriously thinking about what she might be able to about it.

Shinon and Rolf came over as well, Shinon looking mighty sour and Rolf looking almost depressed.

"Are you all out too?" Mist asked, bewildered. A nod from the two confirmed her thoughts. The sound of cracking metal drew her attention to the frontlines in time for her to see shards of an axe impale a man and injure Titania. "Everyone's weapons are breaking!" Mist said with a whine.

"At this rate, we'll fall because of weapon deficiency." Pyren said, appearing out of nowhere. He frowned at the large set of doors behind them before turning back to the battle. "At this rate, Ike will be the only one left with a weapon."

Mist frowned, studying Pyren closely. "There's no tactic we could use to get us out of here?"

Pyren shook his head, a smile creeping up on his face. "We're like the proverbial rats caught in their hole, waiting to die with no chance to escape. Yet how fiercely will the rat fight when the cat backs it into a corner? There is no way for the rat to win, but it will fight all the same." He flashed the three archers a grin as if daring to speak against him. "I suggest you start trying to find a way out of this corner. The rest of us are doing what we can while you stand here and stare."

Shinon clenched his fist and was about to retort angrily, but Pyren ran towards the lines, his fire tome open in his hand.

"Come on, let's do what we can!" Rolf said heartily. Alec nodded in agreement and the two boys took off over the piles of rubble towards the heavy doors.

"Do your best Shinon." Mist said, smiling up at him. With a reluctant sigh, Shinon went after the boys casting Pyren and evil glare over his shoulder.

Hani sighed angrily as she searched the walls for a lever, or some mysterious runes, or anything at all. She had even pulled on the torches protruding from the walls. It was hopeless. That creepy guy had been right when he said that only a cultist could open the doors. Just as she turned towards the battlefield, a white feather floated down in front of her face. She grabbed it just to make sure that it wasn't a figment of her imagination, and then spun around, searching the walls.

Up high near the ceiling on a hidden balcony was Aramin and a sickly looking Reyson draped over his shoulder. He held out a ring of keys for Hani to see, then pointed towards the huge set of doors. She nodded and ran towards them, pushing on them lightly. They creaked open an inch.

"The door is open!" Hani yelled excitedly, attracting the attention of the three archers. "Help me out guys! We can get out of here now!"

The three came over and helped Hani push the large doors open. Fresh air gusted in, filling the whole hall with the sound of rushing wind. Startled, the battlers paused for a minuet, looking at the gaping door.

Somewhere within the mercenary lines, Titania shouted out a retreat. An angry cry from the cultists followed them as they ran towards freedom. Flashes of magic appeared in the cultist lines right before a flaming ball came crashing down on the threshold. A blade of wind stopped the roaring flame from spreading and the mercenaries were able to escape into the looming cave.

"Titania and Oscar, take Soren and Pyren. You guys are going to have to protect our rear from magic." Ike said, helping Rhys up onto Mist's horse. "You two get out of here now. Don't worry about having to heal us."

"Commander, requesting permission to stay behind." Taiust said, landing his wyvern and sheathing his long-handled axe.

"Request denied." Ike replied, casting Taiust a cold look. "We don't need any heroes, we just need to get out of here alive. If you want to help, take someone and get them out of here."

Taiust set his jaw but nodded, muttering a positive response. He was about to take off once more when Aramin appeared from behind a stalagmite, still carrying an unconscious Reyson.

"Hey, who wanted this fella again? I don't think you're going to get your money's worth, he doesn't look to well." Aramin said any trace of a smile gone from his face despite his attempt at humor.

"Oh no." Ike muttered, running over and taking some of the weight off of Aramin's shoulders. "He's dying. Taiust, get Reyson out of here. Fly straight to the capitol and get Leanne. She'll be able to heal him. She might be the only one who will be able to heal him at this point."

Taiust hesitated then took Reyson up onto his saddle. "Don't die Commander, or my lord will have to admit me back into his ranks disgracefully." He said gruffly. Any response Ike might have made was lost in a flurry of wind as Thane took off, flying low along the floor of the cave as fast as he could.

A cry of pain alerted Ike's attention to Oscar and Soren who had both been thrown from their mount by one of the crazed laguz. The horse cried out and kicked at the air before running away from the feral beasts that came after it. Ike saw a flurry of black out of the corner of his eye just before 200 pounds of muscle and claws leapt at him; it's fangs itching to draw blood.

His sword came up to defend automatically and batted the swiping claws away, diverting the force of the blow to the side. The black tiger spun around as soon as it hit the ground and charged at him a second time. With a sweep of his sword, Ike disemboweled the creature as it flew at him, landing to the side in a bloodied heap.

Black laguz of all the races were sent fourth, causing a major surge in the enemy lines. Ike looked on for a split second as the mercenaries summoned up the last of their strength to fight the laguz. They were out manned, they stood no chance of survival; this they all knew; yet they gave it their last instead of giving up like docile prisoners.

"The valiant die young while the cowardly live forever. Yet it is the cowards that die a thousand times before their calling, and the valiant only experience the pain of death but once." Ike said with a grin, remembering the words of his long dead father. Ragnell's blade pulsed with green light as he dove blade first into the swarming mass of black laguz, a valiant war cry escaping his throat as his blood stained blade plunged into the nearest man.


	19. Chapter 19: There's a Battle M'boy

**Chapter 19: There's a Battle M'boy**

Anthony kept his face down, watching the ground so that the shadow of his helmet would cover his face. Christiana walked along beside him, leading the standard issue Begnion military warhorse that she had 'borrowed' from the stables.

"Brother, how far do you think we'll have to march? It's starting to get dark, and I'm worried we'll be too late." Christiana whispered so that only Anthony could hear.

"We won't be too late. That company fought against King Ashnard, and everyone survived that ordeal. A band of rogue cultists shouldn't be too much of a problem for them." Anthony replied, flashing his sister a smile. In truth, he was trying to reassure himself as much as he was his trying to reassure his sister. It was true that among some groups the Greil Mercenaries were considered "Miracle Mercenaries", but he wasn't at all sure if they could fight for hours without loosing morale and a few men along the way.

From within the group he heard a soft humming. It was a tune he recognized, though couldn't place the words to it. A few of the men started singing out loud, their bass voices rumbling through the air.

"_Come along m'boy,  
There's a battle ahead m'boy  
We're marching over the hill m'boy  
Do you want to die m'boy?"  
_Christiana grinned, recognizing the song and singing along with them. Anthony jabbed her with his elbow. "Don't sing. You aren't supposed to be a girl, remember?"

Christiana pouted, the expression on her face barely seen though the grates in her helmet. "But brother!"

"No buts!" He hissed, patting her on the back firmly. "We don't need to be revealed now."

One of the five lance wielders that had come along for the job chuckled. "Don't worry, these soldiers won't notice a single voice with all the racket their making."

Anthony sighed, seeing now way to stop his stubborn sister from doing what ever she wanted.

Mari's ears twitched as she walked along the path before her, slightly irked that the beorc following were so slow. She paused, waiting for them to catch up with her. Normally a slow pace didn't irritate her, but energy seemed to throb through her at the thought of her brother being trapped underground. A low sound reached her sensitive ears, emanating from the soldiers. "A song? What are they singing for?" She asked out loud, her ears twitching in irritation. "They should be marching, not singing!" She growled, pacing restlessly. "I'll never understand beorcs and their ways."

She huffed and trotted ahead as the singing group of beorc came closer, her thoughts revolving around the desperate situation her brother was probably in.

_**-80808080808- **_

Taiust cursed mildly under his breath as the frail heron shivered violently in his arms. He tried to spur the green wyvern on faster, but it only let out a low protesting growl in response. They were just barely skimming the tree tops, the lift being created from decaying foliage below giving them more speed than the wyvern could handle. Every little movement seemed twitch, making it feel like if they over reacted the tiniest amount, they'd fall right out of the air.

Still, the frail Heron man was dying rapidly.

Vaguely Taiust wondered if they heron girl could truly save him. His feathers and hair lacked any former luster they might have possessed. They were dulled in a way that only seemed to make the heron appear more fragile and pathetic. Taiust mentally scoffed at how fragile the creatures were while simultaneously praying that it would live. He'd never completely failed a mission before, and he wasn't about to start failing now.

The tops of the highest Begnion buildings were appearing on the horizon. Just a few more precious moments and the bird would be safe.

Men along the protective wall shouted and pointed up at him as he flew over, but none of them shot. He was long gone before they could ready their bows to fire at him.

Roars of his companions and other wyvern in the hold below him bellowed a welcome to which Thane responded heartily, dropping down into the arena-like area similarly to a rock. He absorbed the shock with his massive knees and bent down so that Taiust could dismount easily, heron in hand.

He slid off the side of the great beast, rushing in through the doors that lead to the maze of hallways that made up the Begnion Capital. 'Now where was that damned heron?' He thought irritably, running down the halls.

The dying heron in his arms twitched, raising his pale hand ever so slightly. "L-Leanne…" he whispered, a cough wracking his small frame.

"Don't die just yet heron boy. I've got a mission, and I need you to live for it." Taiust muttered, kicking open a few doors. Still no female heron. "Damn it!"

A feather light touch startled him, making him jump around, on guard. He came face to face with the little heron woman, staring up at him with wide eyes. He gaze drifted down to the limp form of her brother in his arms, and her hands fluttered up to her mouth. She said something he couldn't understand, tears leaking from her eyes.

"Listen little Lady," Taiust began, trying hard to restrain his annoyance. This was no time to be crying! "you have to heal him. Now."

She blinked, nodding and wiping away her tears. "Please, set him down." She said softly.

Taiust did so, if a bit reluctantly. What difference did it make if he was on the floor or not?

Leanne closed her eyes, spreading her hands out before her over the immobile form of her brother. Her wings spread behind her, her hair flowing in some sort of magical wind as she began singing, her hands glowing a pale yellow.

Taiust watched in awe as her chanting became louder, and the glow turned from yellow to gold, encompassing her whole form. Slowly, the heron boy began to glow as well, the luster returning to his hair and feathers. His eyes fluttered open, and the girl stopped singing, falling to her knees beside the heron boy.

The talked rapidly to each other in their own flowing language, irritating the heck out of Taiust.

He tapped his foot against the ground, slowly becoming more and more impatient with every word they muttered. Finally, he sighed, heading back towards the Wyvern hold.

"Wait!" A male voice called.

Taiust turned, seeing that the heron man had finally stood.

"Thank you for helping me." He said, offering Taiust the slightest of bows.

"I was just doing my duty." Taiust replied gruffly. "But I've wasted a lot of time here when I could go back and fight. I need to go back and help out the Commander. They're going to need it." His last sentence died off a bit, leaving the two herons to wonder if they actually heard him say it or not.

The turned to each other, exchanging meaningful glances. "We'll accompany you. I've been of no use so far, and it's my fault that they are trapped in the first place." Reyson replied, clenching his fists.

Taiust shrugged his massive shoulders in an uncaring manner. "Do what you want, I can't stop you. Just don't get into my way." He paced back down the hallway, the light footsteps of the two accompanying him all the way out to the wyvern holding grounds.

The other three of the wyvern riders that had come with him from Daein ran up, snapping off a salute. A blonde headed man he knew personally as Chane stepped forward. "Sir, with all due respect Sir, we'd like to come with you."

Taiust scoffed at them, though inwardly he was touched by their loyalty. "Don't address me as 'Sir' anymore. I'm not your commander remember?" He said, pointing accusingly at the mark on his chest plate where he had scrapped off the Daein Wyvern Regiment 16 emblem.

The three grinned to each other, a younger man, almost a boy, stepped forward this time. "Sir, with all due respect, we don't give a shit. We're coming whether you want us to or not. Besides, you can't court-martial us for disobeying you, seeing as you aren't of higher rank than us."

Taiust sighed, holding up his hands in defeat. "I can't be responsible for what you do. I'll tell you the same thing I told them." He jerked his thumb behind them where the two herons stood. "I can't control you, but you'd better not get in my way."

The three snapped off a salute again, grinning like a bunch of kids that had stolen a bunch of candy. "Sir yes Sir!" The chanted in unison, running off to retrieve their wyvern and gear.

Taiust sighed, shaking his head slowly as he walked over to an impatient Thane. The green wyvern growled, ducking low so he could mount easier.

"I great man is not always judged by his deeds, but how other judge him." Leanne said softly staring at Taiust's back.

Taiust hoisted himself up on the saddle and stared at the two. "But you're only judged well when you do great things." He replied, taking the reigns in his hands. "Without deeds to back up your image, no one will judge you anything but a petty soldier."

Leanne nodded, her whole body glowing with pure white light as she transformed. Reyson transformed as well, the two becoming beautiful and nearly indistinguishable as they launched off the ground with graceful stroked of their wings.

Thane roared and pushed his wings down hard, jerking them both into the air with incredible speed. The three other riders swooped out of their holdings, joining the herons and Taiust in the sky. He held a clenched fist up in the air, and the other wyvern riders returned the signal.

Taiust held up three fingers and made a cutting motion with his fist. They came closer to him, making a 'V' formation, the Herons gliding effortlessly in their wake on either side. 'Hold on just a bit longer Commander, the Calvary is coming.'

_**-80808080808- **_

Cyrus stumbled to the front of his cage. The captor was here, he _had_ to listen to him. There was no choice _but_ to listen to him, to fulfill his every request, even if it cost him his life. He felt empty and numb, with only a desire to follow and to please and an overwhelming sense of power. The men in the masks were his masters. He was going to do everything they said.

The man in the hawk mask walked down the line of cages, unlocking every single one of them. When they were all unlocked, and every hawk and crow in the entire holding was staring at him, he announced his plans, the plans that _had _to be fulfilled by the warped beasts.

"There are intruders by the exit!" He yelled, his voice traveling to every cage. "Stop them from escaping and kill them! There is no mercy for those who defy the Dark God and his workings! GO!"

With a great whoosh of flapping and a flash of frantic feathers, all of the cages became very empty, the captives previously held in them gone down the winding halls.

The ceilings were high, and the flock moved as an unorganized pack, darting to and fro, all wishing to be the first to complete the Master's wishes, even if that meant certain death.

With a few mighty strokes of his black wings, Cyrus pushed himself to the front of the lines, urged on by the Master's will. Left and right, he knew this place by memory, it was ingrained into his head by means that he couldn't answer, nor wanted to answer. There it was, just ahead of them: The dreaded Mercenaries and their traitorous ways. Who dared to defy the Dark God in his own house? They would surely pay for their crimes against the Great One.

As one, the whole flock of rabid birds swooped in, screeching terribly, knowing that the betrayers would meet their doom at the hands of the workings of the Dark God.

Cyrus angled his wings, swooping towards the group and screeching loudly. He'd aim for the boy, the one in purple… wait… Boy?

_**-80808080808- **_

Soren grimaced in pain, clutching at his damaged arm. Sticky hot blood seeped through his clothes, sticking to the palm of his hand and the pages of his spell book as he turned the pages. Titania screamed in unbridled rage, seeming the worse for wear as more and more of the crazy black laguz swarmed at them, blocking off any chance of escape. There was simply no way out of this hell hole.

They were going to die.

Pyren sat behind Oscar, his eyes gleaming with maniacal delight as he cast more and more spells, sending fire balls into the tigers and cats gathering before them. The acrid stench of burning feathers and fur filled the cave as Veritar and Pyren worked together to burn a steady amount of the warped laguz that came after them.

Mist had finally lost the ability to heal with her staff, so she was forced to watch from within a protective ring of fighters along with the archers that could no longer shoot arrows. Hani stood in the center with them, having the most horrible feeling that her sword skills would be much more dangerous to her team mates than to the enemies. Every so often one of the wounded enemies would break the barrier consisting of Ike, Veritar, Oscar, Mennen, Max, Aramin, Geoffrey and Titania. Mist and Hani would combine forces and kill the soldier or laguz. The archers however, could only watch and wait, feeling completely helpless.

Alec looked toward the exit, feeling empty and un-energetic, how strange! Between him and freedom was a sea of black laguz, all wanting to just rip him to shreds. The worst part was that he couldn't even help them! If only Cyrus was here, then he was sure that every thing would work out. But now, he wasn't so sure. His hopes plummeted even more when Mennen retreated with a large wound, transforming into his human state as he fell back.

"No more…" The laguz boy whispered, sounding horrified. "I can't… go on… no more." He collapsed in a heap, still conscious, but unable to move.

Mist and Hani went to work, killing off one of the laguz that escaped into the ring before Max and Oscar could fill in for Mennen. Their protective barrier was slowly shrinking.

Alec looked wistfully towards the exit once more, then fell to Mennen's side, lifting his head. From within the depths of the base came a screeching of many birds and the whooshing of many wings.

"Oh no!" Mist cried, pointing to a black cloud of bird laguz.

"There's no way we can beat all of those!" Hani said, staring at them with wide, horrified eyes. "What are we going to do? There's no way we can protect ourselves from an air attack!" She yelled, dropping her sword on the ground and holding her head with both hands.

Alec watched the swarm, and saw as the first wave swooped down, screeching and screaming. Their razor sharp talons and beaks, made specifically for shredding helpless creatures, were aiming right at the mercenary group.

Perhaps it was just a trick of the light, or maybe he was going mad with exhaustion, but from within the crowd he though he recognized Cyrus' screech and perhaps even a flash of his feathers. Just above him one of the hawks appeared out of nowhere, screeching and diving right for him.

"Move!" Hani screamed, running forward, about ready to leap in the way of the grabbing talons.

"Cyrus…" Alec whispered, watching with wide eyes as the hawk came at him.

_**-80808080808- **_

It was the boy… Boy? Wait, what boy? Who was this boy? Why was he questioning himself?… Was there… something wrong with what the Master had commanded?

Cyrus veered off to the side at the last minuet, breaking suddenly and coming into a rather jarring landing. He screeched, flaring his black wings wide as he stared up at the boy in purple. There was something wrong here. The boy was important… but why?

The boy stood still as Cyrus continued to screech at him, flaring his wings in a threatening way and clicking his razor sharp beak together. Two girls stared down at him, swords ready if he should suddenly leap at the boy.

The purple boy seemed as if he was unfreezing, for he moved towards Cyrus jerkily, as if uncertain. He backed up when Cyrus made a move to snap at him, but came forward when he did no more than his.

"Cyrus, what have they done to you?" The boy asked, tears welling up into his eyes.

Cyrus? Was that his name?

Flashes of light erupted somewhere behind his eyes and he felt as if his whole head was going to explode. What was going on? The boy! He'd done it!

Cyrus leapt forward limply, catching the boy's arm with his beak but doing no more than scratching him. He fell to the cave floor, his whole body irrupting in pain.

The boy came forward, grabbing his wings and holding him down as he thrashed around on the ground, the pain searing every nerve in his body.

'I am Cyrus.' The dull thought echoed in his mind, just before he gave into the comforting darkness.

_**-80808080808- **_

"What was that all about?" Hani yelled, just as curious as she was frightened.

Tears escaped Alec's eyes as he stared at the bird's limp figure. "It's Cyrus!" He replied, sniffling. But boys couldn't cry, so he wiped away his tears and did his best to suck it up. Cyrus had come back to him!

"Are you so sure about that? It looks like any other bird to me!" Hani replied heatedly, poking the limp bird with the tip of her toe.

Alec shot her the most evil glare he could and Hani held up her hands in surrender, backing away respectfully.

"Don't worry Cyrus, I'll find a way to get you back to the way you used to be. There's got to be a way." Alec said, standing and looking around. His gaze locked with Veritar's, the big red dragon looking down at him with what? Pity? Sorrow? Hatred?

The big dragon turned again, his tail twitching as he sucked in a big breath, unleashing a steady stream of fire. His throat was beginning to hurt from all the torching, but he said nothing.

'If I can't handle torching some crazy cultists, then how do I expect to fight the King of Goldoa? He could probably have wasted this whole place hours ago.' Veritar thought sourly, swiping at some soldiers that came a little too close for comfort.

Two birds swooped down at him, aiming to claw out his eyes. He ducked, inhaling a breath and spewing fire all around his head like a halo, effectively torching the birds that had tried to forcibly remove his sight. 'I wonder how much can last? What ever the Senator did to me is sure helping, but I wonder if this will wear off before the battle ends?' He wondered silently, roaring and clawing a few soldiers, sending them flying and tumbling into their comrades.

From somewhere outside the cave he thought he heard the faint trumpeting of a bugle. 'Maybe I am going crazy…' He thought irritably, spewing fire on an unlucky group of tigers. But the sound came again, this time a bit louder.

He chanced a look towards the entrance of the cave, and almost whooped for joy, for there stood a gleaming golden cat, otherwise known as Mari.

_**-80808080808- **_

Mari had no idea what the beorc were doing, but she wasn't going to complain. Apparently the song they had been singing was some sort of ancient ballad made to make them all walk faster. They were making great time now, maybe good enough to arrive in time for help!

Up ahead loomed the dark entrance to the cave, a musty odor tinged with the metallic smell of blood wafted out of it's gaping maw. Mari cast a glance back to the Begnion troops, then melted into her cat form. "Just in here!" She yelled over her shoulder, bounding through the entrance. She didn't know what would lie beyond.

Would they be sitting there, grinning like fools and waiting for her to show up? Or was she too late, and they would be dead or worse; captured? She stood near the entrance, looking down at the battlefield and her heart almost burst with joy.

There they were, still quite alive and fighting well. Her heart sank though as she realized they were caught in a sea of black laguz and cultists. Veritar looked up at her from his spot in the protective ring around those who couldn't fight. He bugled a greeting that shook the foundations of the cave, alerting everyone within a mile radius of her presence.

First shock greeted the cultists, but that shock quickly transformed into fear as the Begnion troops filed in behind her, shouting a fierce war cry and banging their lances against their shields.

Mari charged ahead, the Begnion troops following in her wake like a waterfall of soldiers. The black laguz charged, roaring and hissing as they jumped as one, meeting the troops in a head on attack, leaving the mercenaries wide open to retreat even farther towards the exit.

"We've got to break through their lines!" Ike shouted over the din as they regrouped. Behind them were the cultists and the birds, in front of him the cats, and after that line of claws and teeth was the Begnion troops… and freedom.

Soren and Pyren nodded to each other, flipping through their respective spell books. They began chanting in unison, the exact same spell flowing from their lips. A ball of magic formed in their hands, encompassing their books. With a muttered word, the spells shot forward into the crowd of black laguz, exploding with brilliant flashes of light.

Pyren laughed, his book crumbling to ashes, while Soren just stared at them with his usual emotionless mask, his book disappearing in a flash of light.

The hole the two spells had created left the black laguz startled and paralyzed with fear. They're allies were stunned into silence as well, obviously never having seen an attack of that magnitude.

Without at word the mercenaries rushed forward through the gap, braving the furious swipes of the black laguz that had recovered from the shock of the blast. They were admitted through the lines to the back where the healers were. Relief washed over them as the healing light closed up their wounds. Finally, the battle was going to end. Titania, Ike, and Oscar were the first to be healed and stood, heading back to the front lines.

"Where are you going Ike?" Mist asked, concerned and annoyed at the same time.

He shot her a small smile over his shoulder. "They came to save us, it just wouldn't sit well with me if we sat back and relaxed while they did all the work."

Mist nodded, sighing. "But if you die Ike, it'll be all your fault and I'll be all alone. Remember that!" She shouted, her eyes flashing with tears.

Ike nodded in understanding, continuing with Titania and Oscar to the front lines.

Mist clenched her fists and sighed, turning to the nearest healer. "If you've got extra healing supplies, I can help." She said, wanting to do _something_ for them. She knew very well that putting herself on the front lines would do no one any good, so she might as well be back here, healing what wounds she could.

The healer blinked, as if surprised. "Yes we do. Come and I'll give you a staff."

Mist nodded, following the healer. The whooshing of wings over head startled her, and she looked up, seeing four wyvern come roaring into the cave accompanied by two white figures.

"Reyson! Leanne!" She yelled, jumping up and down and waving to the two herons.

They banked gracefully, separating themselves from the wyvern as they went off to battle the oncoming hawks and crows. They landed on the ground in front of her, transforming into humans as they descended. "What are you doing here?" Mist asked incredulously.

"We came to help." Reyson replied with a shrug. "It's my fault that you had to come here and rescue me." He clenched his fists, looking into the depths of the cave. "Besides, they have the Medallion. We were supposed to be it's protectors, and we failed. There is no excuse for that."

Mist nodded, understanding him completely. "We need all the help we can get at this point then." She said, looking towards the front lines, unconsciously seeking out the blue hair of her brother. All who had been healed were fighting again, or helping the fight in some way. Alec, Rolf and Shinon had all been given arrows and were firing away from behind the lines with long bows. Cyrus lie by himself, still unconscious with Hani as his guard just incase he woke up.

Leanne stared at him, then looked up to Veritar, then exchanged meaningful glances with her brother.

Reyson nodded, looking down at Mist. "We can heal them both, but not now. After the battle is over, we'll cure them."

Mist nodded, smiling widely. "Thank you, I'm sure that they'll be happy to return to normal. I can't imagine what it's like to be stuck in one form and unable to do anything about it like that."

"That is because you were not meant to understand." Reyson replied in a whisper, walking forward towards the line of soldiers. He and Leanne started singing, white light covering their bodies and giving energy to those around them.

_**-80808080808- **_

Il'Rangein walked down the dimly lit hallways, following the sounds of battle. The thief had long ago escaped into safety, and the heron was gone from his cage.

'We let them escape, and now they've joined their friends. It is no use, we might as well alert Cygnus.' Scythe thought irritably.

"So impatient. We'll head back and see what had become of the mercenaries." Il'Rangein replied easily. He'd ripped off a strip of cloth from his shirt and tied it tightly around his neck to stop the blood flow from the knife wound. It wouldn't do any good to die when he still had a mission to complete. He reached into his pocket, his fingers brushing against the cloth-wrapped medallion. Yes, his mission was far from complete.

He arrived at the battle scene and stood next to the man with the dragon mask on his face. Without being able to see his expression, Il'Rangein knew he was mad. The Begnion army was here now, probably with reinforcements on the way.

"Cygnus, the heron and the thief escaped." Scythe said, his voice low and dangerous.

The masked man nodded. "Then we will have to capture them again."

"The Begnion army knows where we are." He relied, looking up at the band of wyvern riders that were mercilessly shredding the winged forces apart. On the ground, the black laguz were slowly loosing as the cultist backing them up began to die faster and faster. "We are defeated here. There is nothing left."

The masked man turned to him. "What are you proposing Scythe?" He asked in a dangerously soft tone. "Surely you aren't-"

"But I am Cygnus." Scythe replied with a grin, his pointed teeth flashing in the half light. "Get me a couple mages. This base no longer holds any purpose to our clan. Order a retreat to the forest and send word to the Senators. We're getting out of here."

The masked man stiffened, and for a moment Scythe thought that he was going to resist. He grunted in response, calling to a couple of higher end mages that were still standing around. Scythe walked towards the battling lines, a wicked grin on his face as the mages behind him began chanting a spell.

The cultist and black laguz before him parted like water, until he was only a few lines behind the frontal assault. "HALT!" He yelled, his voice echoing off the cave walls, drowning out the sounds of battle.

Everyone stopped, all eyes flashing to his face. Within the crowd, Ike started at the half-man, his eyes cold and undaunted.

"There is no point in continuing to fight with you." He said, his voice echoing in the silence.

"So you surrender?" A man with startling blue eyes and thick red plate armor asked, staring down a Scythe.

"Surrender?" Scythe asked, grinning. "When did I say we surrendered? No, but I have a question for you… Can you escape?"

Mutters spread through the crows of soldiers. Just then a blast of magic hit the ceiling, rocking the whole structure and sending giant pieces of rock falling down.

"Retreat!" The red-armored man yelled.

The soldiers and black laguz turned in opposite ways, running as fast as possible to escape the falling ceiling. The wyvern soared overhead, dodging falling bits of rock as they sped through the air, hawks and crows literally on their tails.

Ike hesitated, meeting Scythe's fierce glare. "What is the meaning of this?" He yelled over the noise.

Scythe only grinned. "Get going Commander, or else you'll get crushed." As if to accentuate his point, a huge slab of rock crashed down between them, and Ike had to duck to avoid a spray of smaller rocks that flew from it.

He grimaced and sheathed his sword, running towards the exit, passing up dead laguz and people without even blinking. That demented man would pay for all the bloodshed he had caused.

_**-80808080808- **_

DS: Just incase you wanted to know… Yes, I did make up that song in the beginning.

Sparkles: Steal it if you want… it's really crappy anyways…

DS: For once, I agree with her.


	20. Chapter 20: Song of Healing

**Chapter 20: Song of Healing**

"We did it!" Christiana said happily, punching the air as the mountain that had once been the base of Atra Bestia collapsed in on its self.

"That takes care of a few problems." Anthony replied, allowing himself a grin.

All around them, the Begnion troops were cheering, thrusting their spears up into the air shouting victory cries and praising the Goddess. Among them came the roars of Mari and Mennen, accompanied by a light display put on courtesy of Veritar.

Mist and Hani were nearly sobbing for joy. The young thief girl leapt at the nearest innocent bystander, enveloping him in a hug. Unfortunately, that innocent bystander was Pyren, and he quickly uttered a million curses on Hani and her family, threatening to set her on fire if she did not release her grip on him that instant.

Boyd ruffled Pyren's hair when Hani leapt away, clinging to Max instead. Boyd's hand was promptly lit on fire, and he did an odd dance, yelling in pain and running around trying to put it out. Alec and Rolf leapt on him, tackling him to the ground and putting out the fire.

Titania and Ike watched from a safe distance, smiling as they watched the antics of the relieved mercenaries and Begnion troops. They'd finally beaten Atra Bestia. Things were finally looking up for them. Now, all they had to do was make the Senators give up their notion of separating from the rest of Begnion, and this whole issue would be over and done with. They could finally return to Crimea.

Still, a thought nagged at Ike, lurking in the shadows of his thoughts as he watched the mercenaries settle down, falling in with the Begnion troops as they prepared to head back to the Capitol. That man who had stopped the battle with a single word bugged him. What was the grin on his face for? They had lost, and their base was now in shambles… yet…

_"Surrender? When did I say we surrendered? No, but I have a question for you… Can you escape?"_

There had to be _something _going on in his head to make a statement like that. Ike truly wanted to believe that this battle was over… but the grin on that man's face told a different story. A hand falling on his shoulder shook him from his thoughts, and he looked up to see Titania, an expression of worry on her face.

"Commander? Something wrong?" She asked, though, she knew something was bothering him, even if he responded to the contrary.

"Just a thought. It's nothing to be concerned about." Ike replied easily, hoping to dispel the look on Titania's face. It didn't go away with his reassurance, and he knew then that this topic would probably come up again in the near future.

A wild screeching came from behind the group, followed by the scream of a startled horse and a great roar from Veritar. Everyone's attention was drawn to the cry immediately. Cyrus had woken up and apparently lashed out at Oscar's horse, which had bucked and tried to run away. It had kicked Veritar though as he was about to subdue the crazed hawk. Alec had tackled Cyrus to the ground as he was about to fly away, and the hawk lie on the ground, screeching and struggling to get free.

Reyson and Leanne walked over to Veritar's side, staring down at Cyrus with pity.

"Hold him, and we will heal the both of you." Reyson said, his gaze still on the hawk.

Veritar nodded, bending down and holding Cyrus with one gigantic hand. Alec stood to the side, his whole body trembling with nervous energy as he watched. The Begnion troops and Crimean Mercenaries gathered around the two laguz, watching in silence as the heron siblings began to chant, their words melting into song as a warm wind kicked up. Mist stood by Ike's side, closing her eyes and placing a hand over her heart as the song wound on, the herons glowing a soft yellow.

As the soft wind stopped blowing, Cyrus and Veritar began glowing like the herons had. A sharp cry pierced the still air, making all in the vicinity jump and hold their ears against the noise. A figure seemed to detach from dragon and hawk, floating above their bodies like a menacing phantom. Two glowing points like eyes appeared within the shadowy forms, and the cry came again as light burst through the phantoms, dissipating them like smoke before a spring breeze.

It seemed as if everything in the world was holding their breath when the herons stopped singing, for even the breeze was still. Slowly, white light enveloped the two and they transformed, taking on their human shapes.

Alec bounded forward with a cry of relief, tears pouring down his face as he embraced Cyrus. The hawk's brown eyes were dull and tired, his feathers marred by dirt and grime. His face looked weary, but a smile cracked his lips as he embraced the purple clothed boy as they sat on the ground together.

Veritar smiled, flexing his fingers as if he had never seen his human form before. He appeared like a normal human with dirty reddish-blonde hair and startling blue eyes, the only thing marking him as a laguz being his pointed ears. The scar that had marred his scales now marred the skin on his forearm, visible because of his sleeveless red shirt. A black cloak hung from his broad shoulders, the ends tattered by use and blue pants much like his eyes adorning his lower half.

Veritar turned his gaze toward the heron siblings, offering them a bow. "Thank you for what you have done."

Leanne smiled back at him. "We could not bear to see you suffer in that form any longer good dragon. We are glad that we could help."

Veritar smiled, staring at his flesh covered hands that lacked any trace of a scale. He flexed them a couple times, and then just started laughing.

Cyrus cast a weary look in his direction, a smile touching his pale face. "Let's go back. I'm tired."

Alec nodded vigorously, helping Cyrus to his feet and trying to support most of his weight even though the hawk absolutely towered over the young archer.

Oscar lifted some of the weight from Alec's shoulders, offering him a kind smile. "I'll let the two of you ride. Don't worry about it, I'll walk." Cyrus muttered a word of thanks, looking weak on top the horse, though strangely triumphant.

Ike smiled, glad for his mercenaries. He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, observing the Begnion troops gather up their stuff and begin to file away in neat marching lines, humming as one a tune of victory. A rare smile appeared on his face and he made his way over to his sister, offering Rhys a hand up onto the back of her horse. Soon, they were gone; the smoking collapsed remains of a hill the only evidence of the battle they had waged.

From within the forest a pair of eyes watched the proceedings, the figure owning them barely breathing. He smirked, mentally berating them for their carelessness. A rustle of leaves, and the figure was gone, disappeared within the endless sea of leaves.

**-0808080808080-**

There was nothing to accompany him along the halls, save the sound of his boots against the carpet covered stone floors. The well lit halls of Begnion Cathedral arched high over his head, the occasional scribe or mage wandering to and fro, more likely than not carrying with them papers or books in which their faces were securely buried. The familiar weight of his sword and shoulder armor was gone, left behind in his room along with the cape that normally flowed from his shoulders. It was an odd feeling, and it took some getting used to. Any passersby that bothered to look at him would only see a regular civilian, regardless that the blue haired man was indeed a powerful mercenary. His walk told of that, but the untrained eye would not notice something so trivial as his walk.

On his mind though were not the thoughts of armies waging war, or surviving as you could, taking the jobs that came your way. No, there was something much simpler on his mind: his sister.

Mist, the blonde headed girl that never knew quite when to stay out of a tender moment or be wary of a dangerous situation, was someone that the very future of Begnion would depend, whether the residents of the mighty theocracy knew it or not.

In all truthfulness, Ike was concerned for the 'or not' part. Guards now flitted in an out of sight wherever Mist walked, keeping a constant eye on her lest she be attacked, much to the girl's dismay. They had not been resting a day after their climactic battle when the Empress had called them to her war council room. Queen Elincia, Mist, Soren, Titania, and Tanith of the Holy Pegasus Knights, the Heron siblings, and Ike had all attended the urgent meeting. The Empress thought it was high time that the cursed emblem be put to rest, and took it upon herself to place guards around Mist so that she could educate the Empress and the Heron siblings in the ways of the Galdrar of Sealing without being killed first.

There was only one problem with the process of going about destroying the greatest evil power known to the continent of Tellius. It was yet within the grip of a demented half-beorc half-laguz that belonged to an exclusive group of maniacs bent on releasing the Dark God from his cage.

So in conclusion, the Empress had decided that she would hold a Grand Meeting with the Senators. It was finally time to rally the troops and march to put a stop to the warping of the laguz and the downfall of the Senators who still rebelled against that law put into action three generations hence. But like all things concerned with politics, such things never came quickly or easily without a great deal of debating, scheming, and a mountain load of paperwork to be filled out. Such was the way of a Theocracy.

Ike however, did not possess patience that could last until the sky turned green and the grass turned blue. Patience was one of the fundamentals that he had simply had no patience to learn. It came and went as it pleased, usually aiding him in a crisis, but that was it. He had an itch to leave as soon as possible, and falling short of that goal he decided to explore the vast length and width of the Begnion Cathedral. Not an easy task actually, for the place was huge, towering over most of the buildings since it was the capitol building, home to the Empress or Emperor and every scholar who decided to show up and live in The Holy Mother Ashera's Library. Ike had thought that the massive size of the place had been ridiculous, but not nearly as ridiculous as the books stacked around the place. It was baffling really. No one man could read all those books even if he lived to be a hundred and forty.

His stride lengthened as he entered the biggest room in the whole complex. A massive tree swaying in a gentle wind dominated the room. It was like a small city inside there, for people walked above on balconies and catwalks, the people on the ground either scurrying about or studying the tree. Ike didn't feel like being in the center of so much hustle, so he entered the halls on the other side. A voice halted his progress though, calling out his name, as only she would dare.

"Commander Ike?" It was Elincia, looking a bit surprised to see him. Maybe it was because he was just walking around, or maybe it was because he had no armor on. Either way, she looked surprised as she walked to his side. "I did not expect to see you today." She admitted, smiling lightly. "I thought you would be recovering still from the battle two days ago."

Ike stopped walking, waiting for her to catch up to him. "I should be resting still, but I can't stand staying in bed. There's still a lot to do." He replied, watching her as she stood by his side.

"I understand. The situation with Mist is probably keeping you up. I worry for her." Elincia truly did look worried, her brown eyes turned on the ground. "I worry for Begnion as well. Because of what you have accomplished, the rebelling Senators will think twice about trying to separate. The Lord Anthony is also showing a strong interest in helping. Since the Senators would want to meld with his country and fight against the capitol, he would like to have his borders protected. Your earlier plan to head for the boarder is going to be carried out after all." A small smile graced her face, though it seemed a forced sort of smile.

Ike paused for a moment, contemplating what she had said and at the same time wondering what that look was for. "Yes. We'll be heading out when Lord Anthony leaves the capitol as his guards. We will probably be gone for a while. It takes a couple weeks of marching to reach the border."

"I'm well aware. I know that your company will have a hard trek up to Daein, and what's worse it's approaching the cold season." Her response surprised Ike. She sounded almost… angry.

"Elincia, is something troubling you?" Calling her by her first name still didn't sound quite right, but she had asked it of him, and Ike was willing to obey her.

Her eyes flashed up towards his face before resuming their position locked on the ground. "That's what Geoffrey keeps asking me…" Elincia said softly, almost so that Ike couldn't hear her words. She continued in a louder voice though, her eyes never meeting Ike's. "Duties will be calling me back to Crimea soon. I can't afford to stay here much longer without my people asking questions. Geoffrey and a few of the Begnion guards have chartered a ship for me back to Crimea. I should be departing within the week if all goes well with the planning."

Ike had never been good at hiding his emotions, and the shock he was feeling was quite apparent on his face. Elincia couldn't help but notice, and a small sigh escaped her.

"But why? This was never an issue before." Ike stated, perhaps a bit lamely, but it was the first thing he could think of. He had gotten better at speaking to royalty during his time in the palace, but he had yet to perfect the game of wit and words.

Elincia dared to meet his gaze; her eyes filled with some emotion Ike couldn't quite place. "Before, I was not queen of a country. I had no duties before other than to save the kingdom that didn't know I existed. I could afford to be on the campaign trail with you and your mercenaries, but this time is different." She wrung her hands, eyes once again on the floor as if searching for letters woven into the fabric that would help her to answer Ike's questioning gaze. "Please, I will ask you to remain here. Everything that you need will be provided for you in the way of funding. The Empress is willing to keep you safe under her banner, for we are doing her a great favor."

"But we were hired to be your escort, not a private battle force." Ike's tone rose, indicating the anger he was starting to feel. It surprised him how quickly he became mad at her suggestion, but at the same time he felt as if she were betraying him. Had they become just another part of the Crimean guard? Before he would have happily served at her side, and so would any of his mercenary group, but she was leaving which made it a different story entirely.

"I'm aware of this." Elincia replied calmly. "But if you won't continue to fight under the contract we've made as employer and mercenary, I'll ask you to do this for the bond that we have made as friends. I do not wish to leave, but I do not wish for my people to loose faith in me either. Crimea still has a long way to go to complete its recovery, and I do not wish to see what progress that we've made shattered. They glean hope from what you do here. Reports manage to reach Crimea of your victories, and the laguz feel more secure knowing that the Hero Ike from the Great War is still present even after the fighting on our home soil is over with." She reached forward then, taking her hand in both of her own, reminding Ike strongly of the day she was coroneted. "Please Ike, I would not ask this of you if I did not have faith in your abilities."

He wasn't thinking when he tugged on her hand, bringing her a step closer. His free arm enveloped her in a loose hug, Elincia's hands still holding his. "Travel safe Elincia. I'll talk to the men and see what they say."

A little noise escaped Elincia, perhaps it was a sigh, but Ike couldn't tell. "Thank you Ike. I am so very grateful that I have you to depend on." She released her hold on his hand and took a step back just as the sound of heavy riding boots clunking against the carpeted floors reached their ears. It was Geoffrey, wearing an impassive face as he walked towards the two.

"Your highness, your presence is required by the Empress." Geoffrey made a small bow, and then stood a partial attention before Elincia, something Ike had seen him do even in casual company. He wasn't a general for nothing.

"Thank you Geoffrey. I'll go there presently." She smiled at Ike again, dipping her head slightly before starting off down the hall, Geoffrey at her side.

Ike watched the two and saw Geoffrey look at him over his shoulder, a very cold look on his face. Without even meaning to, Ike found himself returning the glare until they turned the corner before heading off in the opposite direction in search of Boyd. Perhaps he'd be able to challenge the axe wielder to a match to help clear his head. He certainly had a lot of thinking to do before consulting Soren about this latest escapade.

He found Boyd's room quickly enough, but paused with his hand over the doorknob. A mild argument seemed to be going on inside and Gatrie's booming laugh could be heard through the door. Ike pushed open the door a bit reluctantly, hoping that what he found inside wasn't going to scar him for life or seriously damage his opinion of the men within.

For some odd reason, he wasn't surprised at what he found. Boyd and Hani were in the middle of a heated argument, some of the words involved being "thief" and "looser". Gatrie was apparently laughing at them, seemingly a bit tipsy while Shinon glared at the others with his ever-present scowl. Max sat by, shaking his head every so often like he could actually understand the words firing out of Boyd's and Hani's mouths faster than human comprehension could keep up with. Between the five was a round table with a set of dice and cards scattered over it, as well as a few clothing items. Gatrie was obviously loosing whatever game they were playing, being the only shirtless one while Shinon and Max had managed to stay fully clothed.

"Oh, Commander! How nice of you to drop in!" Gatrie said a little louder than was necessary. Boyd and Hani quieted immediately, staring at him like kids who had gotten caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

"What are you guys doing?" Ike asked, his eyes flicking from Boyd, to Gatrie, and Finally to Shinon, who seemed to be the most sane one of the group for the moment.

"It's called Lucky Scarf." Max piped up, gesturing at the table with the cards strewn about. "You roll the dice and if you've got a card in your hand that matches the number you roll, you put down your card and pick another one from the deck. If you don't have the card though, you've got to… remove your scarf." He grinned, gesturing at Gatrie who was looking a bit dejected in all his shirtless glory. "Care to try your hand commander? I don't think you could be off much worse than Gatrie."

"No thanks. I've got to go. Have fun though." Ike said, obviously not wanting to be participating in any kind of game that involved removing his clothes.

Gatrie heaved a huge sigh, picking up the dice. "The commander never has much fun, does he?"

"What'd we care? Wittle commander Ikie can become another Soren brat for all I care." Shinon said, rearranging the cards in his hand. "I swear, that kid is gonna snap some day, and I'll be there watching it happen."

"Well you aren't very nice." Hani said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Soren's just got more issues than the standard person. Duh." She rolled her eyes, watching as Gatrie rolled the dice. There was a great bark of laughter from Boyd and Max and a simultaneous cry of anguish from Gatrie as the die stopped on a four and a three.

"Come on Gatrie, off with it!" Boyd said, grinning like a fool.

Gatrie sighed again, tugging off his belt and throwing it behind him with the rest of his clothes and a few pieces of armor. "I swear, these dice don't like me…"

**-0808080808080-**

"Well, I certainly hope that you are happy with that little trick you pulled back there." A man, broad of chest and high in stature, said irritably, slamming his fist down on a wooden table. The several others sitting at the table winced, their eyes and faces effectively hidden behind black and silver masks depicting various hawks. The raging man had pushed his own mask to the side, revealing three dark scars on the left side of his face, the eye on that side milky white. His attention was only on the man sitting across the table, looking clam despite the rage rolling off the unmasked man. "What do you have to say for your actions Scythe? I hope you've got ample reasoning for blowing up our headquarters."

The accused man lifted his eyes, gold and flashing with amusement that only made the man angrier. "You seem to easily forget that we had no other choice than to collapse the northern sector. The Empress _knows_ we exist. She had sent her forces to dispatch us. I suggest that you remember this Cygnus."

"We should not have retreated. With our defeat, the Senators are backing off of our funding. The Empress may be outnumbered, but a civil war is something the Senators only like to threaten, not to perform. We lost many men in that last little skirmish, as well as a good portion of our black units." Cygnus responded. "Our clan is going to have to dissipate. If the Senators rat us out to the Empress, then we are as good as dead. Politicians are not known for keeping their mouths shut when their life and fortune is at steak."

"Then we will simply have to win back their confidence." Scythe responded easily, shrugging his shoulders. "We have yet the forces to do it, and this time we will be prepared. Tell me, what have our scouts said of that little mercenary band?"

Cygnus huffed, his eyes glowing with anger even as he reported what had been found. "They are making preparations to head north and aid the southern Daein's to keep the northern Senators off their land. Civil war in Daein is close at hand as well. A disruption in the relations between Begnion and Daein could send the northern country to battle."

"Good. Then we will send a force to intercept those mercenaries and keep them from their goal. Then the Senators will realize what a mistake they are making by abandoning us." His statement was met with stares from behind the masks of his fellows.

"You want Begnion and Daein to go to war then?" One masked man asked. "Even after the destruction of the first Great War?"

"No, that is not my intention at all." Scythe replied with a smile, the tips of his fangs poking out from under his lips. "Daein can not in any sense of the word _defeat_ Begnion if they decide to fight. Begnion won't enter a war as a whole, because they will be divided of opinion. The holy apostle is loosing the power to control her country. With a little nudge in the right direction, we'll have all the funding we need from those corrupt senators. That, my friend, is my intention."

Silence met his statement shortly after, and the others seated at the table exchanged glances from behind their masks.

"We'll consider it." Cygnus finally stated, breaking the silence. "But, should the grand council decide to comply with this notion of yours, you will be put in charge of it. If you were to fail, your head would be the one that we would offer to the Senators if they ask of it."

"I would expect no less, naturally." Scythe replied with a grin. "I plan on taking full responsibility of all of it. That also means that should I succeed, I'm going to be the one that's getting all the glory."

"Naturally." Cygnus replied with a sneer, sliding his dragon mask over his face. "That concludes this session. You'll receive a report when a decision is made."

The sound of scraping chairs and shuffling feet filled the room as the cultists filed out of the room quickly, leaving Scythe and Cygnus alone, and uneasy silence between the two.

"You've got to know that what you're suggesting is more than just funding, correct?" Cygnus stated, his voice barely concealing the anger beneath the surface.

"I know full well that my plan will not likely end in a peaceful manner, yes." Scythe replied, his voice becoming lighter even as his sentence ended, indicating a change in personality. His finger brushed against the wrapped medallion in his pocket. "However, it's certainly not _my _intention to do so."

Cygnus only stared at the half-man as he walked past without so much as a second glance. His eyes narrowed behind the safety of his mask, his mind working to decipher what exactly had been meant. He knew fully well that Scythe considered himself to be two in one body, so he wouldn't have been surprised at all if he blamed the destruction of Tellius on his alter ego. A mysterious man, and one he wouldn't mind getting rid of as soon as the opportunity became available. At the very least, he'd make sure that Scythe's little war scheme went through the Grand Council, and if the half-breed managed to get killed after he entered battle… well, that couldn't be blamed on him.

**-0808080808080-**

Why in the world was it so hard to find everyone just when she needed them most? Never mind the guards floating around, she could call on them any moment. But she needed to find at least Titania, or better yet, Ike. Giving singing lessons to an Empress and two Herons was something she really thought would be exciting. After all, how many times did the average person even get to _see_ the apostle? Mist had quickly found out that being cooped up in the same room for hours on end wasn't something she could handle every day.

The herons had picked right up on the song. But it was so close to the Song of Restoration that every now and then they'd improvise and stick some other verse where it didn't belong. The apostle had no such problems; she just had to learn the song and a few singing tips from the heron siblings. It wasn't a hard job, just repetitive and a bit frustrating. She could never be direct with the Empress. Commoner speech sent any passing senator into a fury, which had to be dismissed by the Empress who could quickly become irritated at all parties involved. In the end, Mist had decided not to speak unless spoken to, and it was driving her mad.

Mist passed into the hallway that the mercenaries had been housed in and were soon preparing to leave. She'd heard from Elincia what was happening and assumed that Ike would be locked up in his room with Soren, having an in-depth conversation about how they were being used by everyone. The guards had stopped following her in this hallway, as she knew they would, and she was left alone to wander down to her brother's room.

Sure enough, there was a light on inside and she could hear Soren's voice through the door. She knocked lightly before letting herself in and meeting the gazes directed her way. "I just got done, so I thought I'd drop in."

"I suppose you've heard already what Ike has gotten us into?" Soren asked, not really expecting any answer contrary to his reasoning.

"Elincia told me what happened." Mist replied easily shrugging her shoulders and looking at Ike. She was delighted to see that a light blush rose to his face for a brief second, but kept her joy hidden behind a well-placed mask of boredom.

Soren looked over to Ike quickly, but missed the blush and thought nothing of it. "I suppose we'll have to break the news to everyone else now."

"Where are they exactly? The halls are pretty quite. I'd expect Boyd and Rolf to be up to something like they usually are." Mist asked, leaning against the door and looking at Soren instead. "Or at the very least I thought that Mia would be complaining about having to pack her stuff again."

Ike coughed lightly, attracting the attention of his sister and tactician. "I've got a pretty good idea what they're doing. I think it's best to leave them alone."

Soren arched an eyebrow. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

"Max introduced them to a new game. The last I saw of Gatrie, he was shirtless." Ike replied easily, keeping his face neutral.

"Well that's not entirely uncommon. Gatrie will take off his shirt at the drop of a hat if you asked him too. He's pretty proud of his muscles." Mist pointed out reasonably, moving away from the door and taking a seat near her brother.

"If you want to see for yourself, you can head down to Boyd's room." Ike replied nodding his head in the general direction he was referring to. "Though, I don't think you'd want to. I'm not sure what extent of madness that group can conceive."

"Oh, you give them too much credit Ike." Mist giggled. "I think that we've seen the worst of it, that is, until Rolf starts getting to be _that _age. If he's anything like his brothers."

She was met with a sigh from Ike and a shake of the head from Soren, indicating that both knew exactly what she was talking about. The three were caught in a moment of silence, finally broken by Soren who stood and cleared his throat.

"I'm going to retire for the night, Commander. I expect to hear much complaining in the morning." Both Ike and Mist watched Soren leave before turning to one another, serious looks on their faces.

"Shinon's going to throw a royal fit, you know." Mist stated with her elbows propped up on her knees and her chin resting in her hands.

"Yes, I'm aware of that. But Gatrie should be able to calm him down after everyone gets the news." Ike replied, shrugging it off. "I'm more concerned about the newer recruits."

"I know what you mean. They seem like good people though. I don't think they'd abandon us so easily, especially if it's just over another contract." Mist said, apparently thinking for her words were slow and drawn out. "If Shinon doesn't threaten to leave, then I think that the rest of them will stick around. Besides, where are they going to go?"

"Yeah, I know. Still, I think that things are going to be getting rough soon. It's like-"

"Like the war all over again?" Mist finished Ike's sentence quickly, sitting up a bit straighter. "I hate all this fighting, but I hate how the Senators and that Cult can stand to take living things like the laguz and make them go through that sort of awful transformation more. I'll always fight by your side, Ike. You're a good commander."

Ike smiled, a smile rarely seen by any member of the mercenary group, and even one that Mist hadn't seen on a very often occasion. "Thank you Mist, you've got no idea how good it is to hear someone say that every now and then."

Mist beamed, standing and patting off her skirt. "You're welcome then. Just remember Ike, there's no Grail Mercenaries without you. We're all counting on you to make the right choice, even Shinon." She winked at her brother, whose smile had disappeared to be replaced with a skeptical look. Mist placed her hand on the doorknob, turning it halfway before pausing, casting a glance over her shoulder at Ike. "Just remember that we need you… _I _need you… and I think we'll get through this, just like we did last time." She left the room, leaving Ike alone with his thoughts as the distant sound of thunder penetrated the walls of his stonewalled room, contributing to his feeling of distant pondering.

Ike looked out his window, eyes on the sky with a distant aura prevailing around him. This hadn't been the first time he'd been reminded of his duties as commander, but his experience did little to take the weight of his position off his shoulders or even make the load seem lighter. It was something even he was still working on.


	21. Chapter 21: Dire

**Chapter 21: Dire**

The morning sun rose slow and steady, creeping up over the tree line with deliberate slowness, as if reluctant to face the world. The arching and ancient buildings of Begnion were lit with an orange glow, the trees growing between the buildings tinted with an amber light. This morning was cool and calm, with little wind to disturb the dew gathered on the grass and trees. A solitary hawk watched this sun rise, the tips of the red scarf hanging from his neck beginning to stir with the first breezes of the newly risen day.

Cyrus kept his eyes trained on the horizon, though his vision was somewhere far away, in a distant time and place. It had been two days since his freedom from the clutches of Atra Bestia, and it was now, at times like this when he was alone, that he realized just what he'd missed while his mind was warped.

He'd taken for granted the simple sight of the rising sun and the friendship -no matter how unorthodox it was- he had with the hyperactive, purple wearing, boy. Cyrus took a few moments to think over this friendship he'd managed to stumble across with the boy until the early morning chill finally convinced him that returning to the palace before the others noted his absence was a good idea. Winter was coming soon, and even in the generally southern regions of Begnion, it was starting to become a bit chilly when the wind blew.

He had felt more than known that their travels would not simply end with the defeat of the Cult, and that same feeling had him come to believe that their journey to stop an impending war would lead them northward to the notoriously cold country of Daein. Cyrus was not exactly pleased to imagine what sort of blizzards would be conjured up on the rocky plains while they were masquerading through the treacherous mountains.

Stretching his wings, Cyrus glided gracefully down from his perch to be level with the topmost floors of the grand homes of Begnion, swooping silently through the twisting lanes of the capitol city. The capitol building wasn't hard to find in the labyrinth of stone buildings that concealed it from the ground, and Cyrus flapped his wings twice more, gliding through a window he had left open upon his departure.

He hovered in mid-air, a gold light shimmering over his body as he transformed into his human form, sandaled feet touching the ground softly and his wings folding behind his back. Everything was as he had left it a few scant hours before.

Alec was still very asleep, his body spread all over the bed as if he were protecting it from any other intruders who might have dared to lay down on the bed. His black hair was tussled and sticking up in some places, his mouth wide open and leaking some drool on the clean white pillows his head had managed to stay propped on during his wrestle with the night sheets that occurred on a regular basis. The boy simply could not stay still even when he was asleep.

Hearing the stirring of others in the company, Cyrus opened the door quietly, stepping out into the hall and made sure that the door closed behind him with no more than a soft click. The first person he encountered in the hall was Mia, the cheery purple-headed myrmidon. She nodded her head in his direction as she walked happily along the hall, a bright smile on her face. He'd never quite understood how it was possible for the girl to get up at unfathomable hours in the morning, even when she had been up the night previously until even the boozed Gatrie and Shinon staggered out of Max's room and collapsed in their respective rooms.

A sleepy looking Mist, accompanied by her ever-hidden regiment of guards, walked along the hall, seeming rather dazed as she made her way to the hall that Ike's room was located along. In all truth, Cyrus really didn't know why he was wandering the halls. It was just a whim, perhaps, that he was acting on simply because he had nothing else to do. His wandering took on purpose soon, and he found himself looking for Commander Ike. Perhaps he just wanted to confirm his suspicions about their departure that would soon take place.

Cyrus didn't have to look far. The Commander was just leaving his room, accompanied as ever by Soren who looked deathly serious. The look sported by the tactician went unnoticed by Cyrus, since the boy often had that look on his face. However, he took notice of the more-serious-than-usual Ike and his suspicions were all but confirmed at that point.

"Commander," Cyrus spoke up, stopping in the middle of the hall, "what our orders now? We've been here for a while with no mention of another job." Of course, he was going to play stupid, but Ike looked a little taken aback by the question anyway.

"Start packing." Ike replied, watching Cyrus as if he'd never seen a hawk laguz before. "We'll be leaving soon."

Both Ike and Soren left Cyrus quickly before he could ask the revealing question of "Leaving to where?". Smiling to himself, Cyrus resumed his aimless wandering of the halls.

_**-80808080808-**_

He had found himself once again standing on the balcony connected to his room, overlooking the grey landscape of Daein as small flakes of snow began to float down to cover the rocky surface. For the fifth time that day, he cursed, pounding a gloved fist on the stone railing and making his way back inside with a flourish.

His rival, the Lord Anthony, was in Begnion by now even though he had made many attempts to impede his progress. The northern reaches of Daein would not surrender to the laguz loving southerners so easily, but their eventual defeat would end in a blaze of glory for Begnion, not southern Daein. This at least, he knew for certain.

"Lord Riven?" A maid, most likely Arina, called through the door, knocking softly as she did so. "My lord, a report has come in on the progress of Lord Anthony. Your presence is requested by Master Gild."

"Let General Gild know that I will be there soon." The man addressed as Lord Riven replied, walking across his room to a large dresser. The maid outside the door muttered an "As you wish" then disappeared.

News seemed to be going in favor of the young brat. His supposed progress did nothing but anger Riven, because his contact with the Senators who were planning to join northern Daein in rebelling against the Empress and the Laguz loving Lord were all but cut off. The mirror hanging on his wall reflected his face, which held an expression of disgust at the moment.

Riven's features were very angular and hard. He was a man that could easily intimidate others despite his slim build, with piercing ice-blue eyes that seemed to stare through a person and black hair kept neat and trimmed at all times. Directing his gaze away from the mirror, he pulled a folded cloak from his dresser, sliding it over his shoulders and heading out the door to meet General Gild.

Castle Ledley was not as large or grand as Castle Daein, but it was the largest testament to royalty in the northern regions of Daein. Once, it had been a vacation spot of the original Daein royal family before their tragic downfall and, ultimately, complete elimination. Now it had been taken over by Riven's forces and used as headquarters to plan bombardments of southern Daein's defenses.

In the time after Daein's downfall, strong Lords such as Riven and Anthony gathered their forces and battled others for leadership of Daein. It had always been the principle of the late king that the strongest and best would rise to power, regardless of birth. Something like that principle had been carried out after Begnion and Crimean forces left the Daein borders completely and merely laid claims on their land. Now it seemed, the two main lords would be reduced to one, the scales tipped by reinforcements of Begnion. It seemed that Daein had little chance to remain outside of the greedy empire's clutches for much longer.

General Gild was a man build like a brick wall, though his wit far exceeded his object of likeness. The general was armor clad, standing stiff as a board at partial attention, dark brown eyes watching Lord Riven.

"What report do you have for me, General?" Riven asked, standing at the opposite side of a long table, one of his gloved hands resting on the back of a sturdy wooden chair. His eyes watched the general carefully, looking for any sign of deceit. Trusting others, even for something so menial as a simple report, was something Riven wasn't completely prepared to do, but had to none the less.

"The Lord Anthony is heading back to Daein, this time with a larger party of soldiers who do not fly banners and a fairly large force of Begnion soldiers." Gild said gruffly, still standing at a partial attention. "The Senators have expressed concern for this small group, and would warn us to arm ourselves as if we were fighting the whole of Begnion its self."

Riven merely gave the general a disgusted look. "They think so little of us to give us that warning? Who do those Senators think I am?"

"My Lord, at first I expressed the same feelings towards this matter as you did. But our spy, the one who is providing this information to us, was part of the regiment that was sent to the Crimean capitol." Gild's voice had dropped ever so slightly, as if he thought that this bit of information was something to be kept quiet. "He was there when the Crimean Liberation Army attacked the capitol, and says that he has recognized the leader of the banner-less squad as General Ike."

Riven nearly gasped at the news, shocked that Anthony had managed to get a hold on such a powerful influence. "So Crimea is in this too, are they?" He said narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"No my lord, they fly no banners. They are acting on the Empress's behalf to maintain peace within Begnion. They are traveling to the Daein-Begnion boarders because that is where most of the resistance is held. They want to destroy the Senators that are helping us."

"Then we will send aid to stop them." Riven said heatedly, stalking around the table. "If we loose the support of the Senators, then there will be no chance that we could stand up to that squabbling brat of a Lord if General Ike decides that Crimea could do with a bit more land."

"What then do you suggest, my lord?" Gild asked, watching Riven pace.

"Send out men to the Senators. Alert them to the danger of our situation if they do not yet know." It was not only his lordship that was on the line this time, but what remained of Daein's pride. "General Gild, I want you to go with them."

"My lord?"

"This is an urgent matter, General. Your presence among our ranks will convey that urgency better than any word carried by messenger." Riven ceased his pacing, staring at Gild with his piercing gaze. "Indeed, the only thing that would be more distressing to them than your presence is my own."

The general bowed, ceasing to maintain eye contact with his lord. "As you wish. I will make sure personally that the message is delivered. I will gather the men and be off by dawn break tomorrow."

"Good. You are dismissed, General Gild." With another bow, the armor clad man turned, walking out of the council room, two other guards following him out.

If it was a fight that brat wanted, then it would be a fight that the brat should damn well remember.

Turning, Riven headed back towards his room to think over his battle plans. He knew that eventually he would have to appear on the battlefield himself, and he hoped against all hope that he would face that brat of a lord in battle. What he wouldn't give to lop off that boy's head.

He slammed his door behind him and paused immediately, sensing that something was out of place. Turning, he came face to face with a pair of golden yellow eyes, the face they were attached to smiling and half hidden by the messy raven hair that had escaped from the band that held the rest of it back.

Riven stared back at the form, the man leaning back against the wall of his bedroom, looking calm as could be. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Riven asked, his voice sounding quite threatening. He was, at the moment, unarmed, but his sword only lay a few feet away from him on the dresser.

"Il'Rangein at your humble service, Lord Riven." The man replied, offering him a mock bow.

"What business do you have with me?" Riven asked, inching slowly towards the dresser with his sword on it. How in the world did this creep manage to get into his castle, and then into his room? Didn't he have guards patrolling the place at all hours of the day and night?

"I've come to give you an offer that I certainly hope you don't refuse." Il'Rangein stepped forward away from the wall, his hands placed neatly behind his back and a smile on his face, exposing the tips of his fangs. Receiving a vaguely curious look from Riven, Il'Rangein continued. "I've heard that you are going to be experiencing some problems with a certain Crimean General in the near future."

Riven narrowed his eyes threateningly, glaring at the intruder. "What does that have to do with you?"

"Well, I just so happen to know quite a few important people and might be able to come to your aide if the Senators abandon you like they abandoned us." Il'Rangein smirked, taking another step forward. "I have a whole legion of laguz ready for disposal against this troublesome band of warriors. They paid a visit to our outpost not that long ago, and the people who are willing to help you would like nothing better than to make sure that the meddlesome General dies with a sword in his gut."

"Why come forward now? What do you want in exchange for your services?" The offer this man was making was extremely tempting, but it couldn't possibly be offered for free. He knew very well the devastating powers of the vile sub-humans, and if this man truly had a whole legion of them…

"Ah, I knew you would ask that little question." Il'Rangien smiled again. "Our price is funding. Most of the men I know are Daein in origin, and would love to help their home country regain power after its fall at the hand of Begnion."

"But you said that you were allied with the Senators. They may be rebelling against the Empress, but they are still not Daeins." In all truth, Riven still didn't trust the Senators that claimed to want to join his side of the battle. As it turned out, those sleazy politicians changed loyalties very quickly.

"Indeed." Il'Rangien replied shortly. "They are as traitorous and fickle with their homeland as they are with their allies. A plight, no doubt, that you are experiencing as well. This proposal is from one betrayed to another. We will join you and bring what Senators that still favor us along to fight for you against General Ike and Lord Anthony."

Riven studied Il'Rangien carefully, his piercing eyes taking in every detail of the odd man. Finally, he consented. "I'll take you up on your offer… for now."

"A wise decision my lord, a wise decision." Il'Rangien replied with a smirk.

_**-80808080808-**_

"Count yourself lucky." Soren said, casting Ike a glance from the corner of his eye. "Shinon didn't start a mutinous riot and string you from the castle walls."

Ike let no emotion slip from his stony visage to indicate that he even heard Soren.

"Come on Ike, no need to get all serious. It's only the first day of the trip." Mist piped up, riding her horse next to Ike. "Besides, Shinon is always grumpy with what ever you say."

Above them, Taiust guided his wyvern ahead of the group, circling some distance down the road and returning lazily, indicating that he'd seen nothing. Cyrus had been switching between animal and human form as he pleased, generally staying out of the way of the irritable wyvern.

Two hundred Begnion soldiers had been put in Ike's charge, but Ike had been more or less ordered to obey Anthony's commands. Anthony's forces numbered somewhere around 80, excluding Taiust who had been discharged from the Daein forces until further notice. The group making their way northward towards the border was a force to be reckoned with, and hopefully their number and reputation would make those who would attack think twice.

It wouldn't be long until they were treading on unfriendly territory where it could be sure that they'd have plenty of opposition to their advancements.

As expected, the day went by with very little fuss. The most exciting thing that had happened during the march north was one of the foot soldiers somehow managed to get his foot stepped on by one of the mounted units, effectively breaking his foot. The soldier had been healed to the best of Rhys's ability and was currently restricted to bed in one of the tents he'd managed to limp into.

Each group of five to seven men had their own tents that they would sleep in that night, the commanding officer of the Begnion troops, Ike and Mist, and Anthony and Christina being the exception to that general rule.

Ike was still awake long after his sister had fallen into a deep sleep. He was thinking, something that most of the other mercenaries would certainly have their fun with if they caught him loosing sleep for no reason other than having his mind somewhere else. It was at this time that Titania decided to step into his tent, the normal white armor she wore gone for the moment.

"I thought I'd find you awake, commander." She said stepping inside and letting the tent flap fall closed behind her.

"Something wrong?" Ike asked, watching her from his sitting place on the only other bunk in the tent besides Mist's. "Something to report?"

"No, commander. I've come to ask about your well-being." Titania said, a small amount of concern in her voice. "Something's been bothering you since we defeated Atra Bestia." After a pause she added: "You knew I'd ask you about this."

Ike sighed, standing and walking past Titania, gesturing for her to follow him outside. When confronted with a questioning gaze, he simply answered, "I don't want to disturb Mist."

Ike lead Titania a bit away from the camp, out of earshot of the nearest tent, should any of the inhabitants still be awake. It was only then that he stopped, a thoughtful frown on his face as he regarded the ground with minimal interest. "Our battle with Atra Bestia… I don't think it's quite over yet."

"What do you mean?" Titania asked, obviously a bit confused. "Their base collapsed over their heads. Even if-"

"But that's just the thing." Ike interrupted abruptly. "They did it on purpose. Collapsing that entrance way was obviously a plan that they'd had for a while. That man, the one that stopped the fighting right before the ceiling collapsed… He said that he wouldn't surrender, and asked me if I could make it out of that cave alive."

Titania watched Ike carefully, processing the information. "So we'll see them again." She said tersely, not looking forward to another meeting with the crazed laguz. "Damn!" She suddenly burst out, punching a fist into the palm of her other hand. "I thought- we all did- that the battle was over with those fiends! That cave system that they had… They must have had other exits and knowingly collapsed one of them to make us think we had defeated them until they could regroup and prepare a counter strike."

"Exactly what I thought." Ike replied calmly.

"Ah, but who are they going to run to now?" A disembodied voice asked, sounding rather cocky.

Both Titania and Ike spun around, Ike with his hand on the hilt of Ragnell and Titania with a one-handed axe she always carried with her.

"Ah, relax you two." The voice said. The human attached to the voice materialized from the shadows, revealing Aramin to be the one speaking. Ike had the urge to suggest a bell for the assassin to wear again.

"Where have you been these last few days?" Ike asked, relaxing his stance. Titania did the same, content to watch Aramin with her hands on her hips.

"Gathering information, what else?" Aramin asked with a shrug. "I've got some interesting bits that may throw a few kinks into your beautiful little plan to storm the boarders and everyone who gets in your way. Remember that little feud between northern and southern Daein?"

"Yes, what of it? Do the Daeins plan to attack us as well?" Ike asked, not quite skeptical, but not really sounding like he'd doubt the notion either.

"Well, yes for the most part." Aramin replied with a grin. "It seems that your fame proceeds you, commander. The lord of northern Daein has discovered that you're the leader of this little band alongside his arch nemesis, young lord Anthony. So, of course he hates you, and he hates Anthony just a bit more. All that hatred is being vented by sending a huge portion of his little army to back up the Senators who plan to fight us to the death. If you ask me, the man has issues."

Titania and Ike exchanged glances quickly. "So what does that have to do with Atra Bestia?"

Aramin smirked before making his reply. "Seeing as most of the Senators abandoned that little cult after we thoroughly kicked their sorry asses, they turned instead to Daein. Lots of those cult guys, after all, were loyalists and high-ranking muckety-mucks before Daein's downfall. I think they struck a sympathetic chord with the lord up north, because there is increased black laguz activity around the boarder. The Senators aren't all that happy with their presence, but they tolerate the beasts because they're working on the same side… Still prepared to take them all on?"

Ike's face was grim again as he stared at Aramin, the assassin returning his stare readily. "We've not got much of a choice, do we? We'll take on the Senators one at a time and hope that they don't pull every other Senator's forces with them."

"There's a chance that as soon as we attack one of the Senator's dwellings, we'll have the whole force on our hands to deal with." Titania added, looking over at Ike. "We'd need quite a few extra forces."

"Aha, and that's what I knew you'd say! Good thing I'm also quite a psychic when it comes to this kind of thing." Aramin piped up, sounding pretty happy with himself. "Do you happen to know a kid named Tormod and a laguz named Muarim?"

Ike blinked in surprise. "Yes, why?"

"Well, the fiery little kid nearly blew me up, he was so excited to hear that you were back in Begnion. He wanted to have a pretty good portion of his Laguz Emancipation group come and help us with our plight. Not only are we fighting Senators who support laguz slavery, but we're also fighting Daeins who think laguz are no more than head trophies. It was pretty easy to get them convinced that we'd like a bit of help." Aramin replied with a chuckle. "They be here in a few days, most likely. It doesn't take very long for a band of laguz to cross Begnion."

"Thank you, Aramin. If we're truly going to be against the numbers you're saying we are, then we're going to need all the help that we can get." Titania said, locking eyes with the assassin.

"Hey, it's my job, right? All for Queen and country!" He chuckled, giving Ike a lazy salute and disappearing back into the darkness of the night.

Left alone once again, Ike and Titania exchanged glances, heading back to the camp together.

"It seems that events we get caught up in have a habit of snowballing." Titania said gravely.

"Hopefully, after this, we'll have seen the last of our major conflicts. I think that I'll have seen enough blood shed for a while to come." Ike replied in much the same tone as Titania.

They parted ways, Ike thinking of the best way to announce the information he'd just received, and Titania thinking of how far the little mercenary group had come, and how far it seemed that they had left to go.

* * *

DS: Do you know what day it is? 

Sparkles: YEAH! Time to break out the alcohol!

DS: Happy 1 Year Anniversary of _Fire Emblem: The Dark Medallion!_

Sparkles: Ah, 21 chapters down and about nine more to go.

DS: Nine?

Sparkles: Yeah, why not? Rough guessing on my part, but I think nine more to go. 30 sounds like a good number to stop at.

DS: … okay… Oh yea, and I would also like to point out that this story has just a bit more than 9000 hits! Congrats to moi! This story is on 21 favorite lists and 20 alert lists, and over 75200 words! Seriously guys, I can't thank you enough for all your support that you've given TDM thus far. I've lost a few reviewers (but hopefully not readers) over my long hiatus, and have gained a few new fans upon returning to the fan fiction world. Thanks to all, old and new. I look forward to finally reaching the finish of this story.

_Before you click the nice little "Go" button at the bottom of the page there, I'd like those who are interested to look at _**Chapter 11: Branded**_. I've re-written Soren and Ike's conversation about Soren's tragic past so that if fits much better with PoR and the coming Sequel as part of my over-all grand scheme to make this an in-between-the-sequels sort of deal._


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